


When Worlds Collide and Days are Dark

by darkmarkburning, staybeautiful



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: And Harry is probably the worst spy, Bond AU - Freeform, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Lots of ot5, Lots of pub quizzes, M/M, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Mostly in the form of explosions, Side: Ziall, Slight Political AU, Smut, because it's a fake relationship, blink and you might miss it, brief Harry/OFC, but not really, slight cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 17:18:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 157,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10926432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkmarkburning/pseuds/darkmarkburning, https://archiveofourown.org/users/staybeautiful/pseuds/staybeautiful
Summary: It's Harry's job to investigate and stop any threats to National and International security as MI6's top operative, which in this case, might just be Louis, over glorified Personal Assistant / Ministerial Diary Secretary to the Prime Minister, no matter how blue his eyes are or what his tight pants might do to Harry. With Harry as James Bond, Louis as his Bond Girl, Liam as M, Niall as Moneypenny, and Zayn as Q.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. Okay, so this was a huge labor of love. We started this well over a year ago and had planned it to be just about 80k, which pretty much shows how out of control this became. What started as a cute story envisioning Harry as Bond and playing off our mutual love for the opening credits to Skyfall ended up as a long ass story about cute spies and a world under attack. Who would have thought. 
> 
> Huge thanks to [Vilja](http://hlficpraise.tumblr.com/) for spending so much time editing and encouraging us. Thank you to [Sammie](http://britpickerhl.tumblr.com/) for making sure we were at least semi accurate! And lastly, for [Doortje](http://generouslouis.tumblr.com) for making such a beautiful header for us! 
> 
> There is an accompanying playlist [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/devi.patel613/playlist/113DKyuusaHmlLwWsKjIgm) and a playlist of every song Harry used as a ringtone[ here ](https://open.spotify.com/user/imytrouble/playlist/28ixTMnSXsBN8l3PQNiEc6) if you get really curious what they all sound like! 
> 
> We hope you all enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> [Tumblr Post](http://harruandlou.tumblr.com/post/160753420420/when-worlds-collide-and-days-are-dark-by)

It wasn’t that Harry didn’t appreciate a pretty girl who was making it clear she was very interested in him. Normally he’d have her out of the little cafe where they were sitting, chatting and drinking coffee on the street out front, and back to his hotel room by now. It was just -- he had things to do first. Namely, making sure there wasn’t a terrorist attack in the middle of Buenos Aires.

“Are you going to be here for much longer?” The girl leaned forward in her seat, her hand reaching forward to graze his. “I’d love to show you around.”

He smiled at her. “Unfortunately, I’m headed back to England later tonight after a meeting this afternoon.”

“That’s unfortunate,” her smile widened. “However will you pass the time until then?”

“I’m sure I can think of a few ways,” he flashed his dimples at her and watched as her cheeks reddened. It was almost too easy. He really loved this part, the chase. There was a certain thrill to it, so different but so similar every time. This time it had started when he had needed a distraction, an alibi as he watched his mark. That, of course, didn’t mean he couldn’t follow through when he was done.

“My hotel isn’t too far from here,” she said bluntly, her accent heavy around the words, already making to stand up, the metal of her chair scraping on the pavement. 

Harry knew exactly where her hotel was, two blocks up and on a small street, secluded, but close enough to the government building he’d heard might explode. He'd seen her leaving it this morning and he'd already stored a rifle on the roof and a small camera transmitting video feed on the ledge.

He grabbed her hand to still her, eyeing someone exiting an alley down the left side of the street, one that Harry was 95% sure ran all the way past where his date’s hotel was, backing up to the doomed building. His job wasn’t quite done here. 

Harry watched the blond man continue down the street, at a casual pace with his hands in his pockets, looking entirely unconcerned. But Harry knew that face, he’d seen it in Jakarta two months ago after a small terrorist attack in the center of the city. He’d been able to get away then, but when Harry had heard he was spotted in Buenos Aires yesterday morning he couldn’t wait for official orders. 

Harry turned to the girl he was with, a pretty dark haired woman whose name he had never learned, and promised to meet her at her hotel within the hour.

She barely had a moment to say goodbye before he was off down the street, keeping a significant distance between himself and the man. Just as they were reaching a crossroads the earth started to shake.

He had thought the bomb was going to go off at half two. The large explosion that had just happened might be the indication that he wasn’t quite right. He quickened his pace after the man, noticing that he had sped up as well. The streets started to fill with people, some coming to check what happened and others running and screaming in terror. His phone started to vibrate in his pocket and he almost lost sight of his target when he went to fetch it. 

“M,” he answered it after glancing quickly at the caller ID. Harry saw the blond man push the crowd to the left and took off in that direction.

“Normally, people pick up a phone call with a greeting,” the gruff voice of his boss came through. “Hello, hi, hey, bloody hola, you know, whatever comes to mind.” 

He smirked, picking up his speed. “Hello, M, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“You’re such a twat, Styles,” he said. “Where the hell are you?”

“I’m a little busy here, Liam,” his name slipping out accidentally in his haste. “What do you want?” He pushed past a few tourists, jumping over an overturned cart at the last minute. 

“Busy with this bomb in Buenos Aires?” His boss demanded. “A bomb you weren’t sanctioned to investigate?”

His eyes darted around, trying to locate the blond man again. People were running rampant, trying to get away from the toppling building. Honestly, one building blows up, and people immediately crowd the streets running in every direction. He didn’t blame them per say, but it was making it difficult to find the man responsible for blowing up the building in the first place. Civilians. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, M,” he said quickly to his boss when he finally spotted his mark. He took off after him again pushing past a young couple walking out of Starbucks.

“I’m sure you don’t,” he could practically hear his eyes rolling over the phone. “I just wanted to let you know that if you’re not back for the meeting tomorrow morning, I am going to shoot you, and I am going to take great pleasure in it.”

“I’m sure Q can update me on all the important things said during it if I miss it,” he smirked to himself as he sidestepped a running woman. It was a running joke in the office, well between himself, Q, and M’s secretary. Because the meetings were always the same, just a weekly update of their missions, and often, it was stuff M had already told him. Being friends with the boss before his big promotion really paid off sometimes. 

“You better not miss it,” Liam snapped. “I swear, 007, I will not only shoot you, I will make Q find a way to bring you back so I can shoot you again, and then I’ll bench you behind so much paperwork, Prince George will be King before you see the field again.”

“Okay, okay fine, I will see you tomorrow,” Harry shuddered at the thought of paperwork. He was closing in on his mark. The terrified crowd was definitely a good place for the blond man to get lost in, but it was also a terrible place to run out of. The man turned and tried to punch him. Harry just ducked out of the way, sending a punch of his own at the man’s ribs, hard. “Look, I really have to go. I’ll see you at the meeting tomorrow.” He hung up before his boss reprimanded him any more. Honestly, bureaucrats. He landed another punch, this time to the man’s face.

The man spat out blood, and tried to kick out at him. Harry just grinned. He’d have thought someone blowing up things would have at least minimal combat training. Clearly not. He blocked another punch, and kicked out himself, sending the man flying back into a street vendor’s cart. Hurriedly, he tried to turn and run again, but Harry gripped his shirt collar hard, dragging him to the side, away from the people running and pushing him against the wall. “Now, that wasn’t a very nice thing you did there, was it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man said in a thick British accent, northern from the sound of it. That made Harry raise his eyebrows.

“What’s a fellow Brit doing blowing up government buildings in Argentina?” Harry questioned.

“I don’t have to answer to you,” the man glared, trying to shove him away.

“Normally, this is the part where I would say we could do this the easy way or the hard way, but I have this really fit bird I’d like to see to, so we’re going to go with the easy way, yeah?” Harry smirked before punching the man in the mouth. 

The man glowered, spitting out blood and what he presumed to be a tooth. “I have nothing to say to you.”

Harry sighed dramatically, shaking his head. “You can either answer to me, or you can answer to the Argentinian authorities. Now, technically they have anti-torture laws here, but you never know what goes on behind closed doors.”

The man clamped his mouth shut and glared, obviously choosing the Argentinian authorities.. Well, this wasn’t going so according to plan. And here, Harry had really been looking forward to seeing that girl again.

“Alright then, mate, whatever you say,” Harry gritted out before punching him one last time for good measure to knock him out. He hauled him up and over his shoulders cursing that they never choose the easy way. 

\---  
*

Harry slipped in through the glass door to the conference room when Liam had his back turned. He was talking about a potential threat in South Africa when Harry settled in next to Liam’s secretary at the back of the room.

“You’re late.” 

“Just barely, Niall,” Harry said, leaning back and resting against the cement wall behind them. His plane had just touched down an hour before. He hadn’t even stopped off for a shower. His bomber in Argentina hadn’t had much to say in regards to where his orders came from and why the back section of the government building had to go, but that didn’t mean Harry hadn’t tried hard to coax it out of him before turning him over to the locals. 

He hadn’t even had any time before his flight to catch up with his new friend, and that was a shame. Stupid Liam.

“‘Just barely’ is still late. M has been concerned about favoritism recently.” Niall’s eyes darted towards a group to their left. “Some comments have been made.”

Harry eyed a couple of the older agents Niall had meant just in time to watch a quick look of disgust flash across Walsh’s and Winston’s faces. Liam had said the words ‘team building’ again.

The weekly meetings were something Liam had began three months prior when he took his new position as M amidst a great deal of controversy. He was young. There were men with more experience. And those men weren’t too keen on following his orders. 

Especially since Liam was insistent that despite them being spies and literally in the business of keeping secrets, they were meant to share - with each other at least. He was quite adamant about the department “becoming a team”. 

“We are working on a plan to get all who are not on active missions to an estate in the north, to work on team strategies and to undergo physical and mental obstacles in a training environment with other agents,” Liam explained. A photo of a large manor home surrounded by woods was up on the projector.

“Why the fuck are we going on a retreat?” Winston said, turning away from Liam and addressing the rest of the room.

“Fucking pansy-arse kumbaya bullshit,” Walsh muttered.

Liam eyed them both sternly, but Harry could see he was distressed. He had been dealing with both their open and silent resistance to his leadership since the beginning, but Harry knew it was weighing on him to continually be ridiculed in his own office. 

“Shall I bring my guitar, boss?” Niall said casually. 

“I found this great recipe for potato salad I’ve been meaning to try,” Harry added. “Unless, of course, that’s what you were planning on bringing, Walsh? I also make a mean lasagna, so let me know.”

Walsh shot him a glare before turning and whispering something to Winston. 

Liam began his closing remarks by saying, “If you currently have nothing ongoing, you should all be getting your new assignments soon. Other than that, great work so far, team, and hopefully next week, we continue to have better news to report.” He eyed a few agents in particular before turning his eyes to Harry. “Styles, please stay a moment. The rest of you are dismissed.”

Niall snickered next to him. Everyone began getting up out of their seats and moving towards the door.

“Is this about being late? Or going on an unsanctioned mission?” Harry whispered to Niall.

Niall singsonged back, “Not telling,” before walking out with the rest of the meeting group.

When the room was empty Liam addressed Harry still from the front of the room. 

“Q wasn’t here, as I’m sure you noticed.”

Harry hadn’t actually. Usually he was in the back of the room with Niall quietly mocking Liam, but not today. He wasn’t sure what Q’s absence was meant to mean.

“He has your next assignment. He’s going to contact you with a meeting place.” Liam then turned towards the door, gesturing that Harry should leave.

“So I get no “good work” for Buenos Aires then? I caught the guy,” Harry said, unmoving.

“The bomb still went off, Harry, on your unsanctioned mission,” Liam looked tired. “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you when you walked in. Halfway through, mind you, don’t think I didn’t see you.”

Harry smiled and heard his phone chime with a text, presumably from Q.

“I guess that’s Q then,” Liam gave Harry a hard look. “You better not screw this up. This is your way of making amends for not following orders.”

“So I am in trouble then?” He checked his phone. Q was calling him down to the lair.

“Of course you are, Styles,” Liam rolled his eyes. “I want a report on Argentina on my desk by the end of the day. You're just lucky that with these bombs going off, I still need you. But you better damn well make sure you make Q happy or I might change my mind.”

“Got it, boss,” Harry grinned. As far as punishments went, it wasn't as bad as he'd thought he'd get. He had to write reports on sanctioned meetings all the time, it was half the job. “I won't let you down.”

“And Styles? Try to keep it in your pants this time.”

“I’m offended, Liam,” he looked affronted, pouting at his boss. “I don’t not try to not keep it in my pants.” 

He left before Liam could reprimand him further.

\---

“Q,” Harry greeted warmly as he walked into the gadgets hanger, or as he more commonly referred to it, Zayn’s lair.

“007,” the dark haired man looked up from where he was tinkering on what looked like a lipstick case. Knowing Zayn, it probably shot out several different types of lasers and/or explosives.

“You know you can call me by my first name,” Harry rolled his eyes, though the grin didn’t leave his face. “We are friends. It’s a thing, you know, calling friends by their names.”

“We’re at work, wanker,” Zayn drawled, setting down the lipstick case carefully. “And you called me Q.”

“Well, as you said, we’re at work,” Harry smirked. “Anyways, I hear you’re the man to see about my new case. Liam’s apparently too busy planning what he’s going to say at the next weekly meeting to give it to me himself.”

At that Zayn smiled slightly. “Nah, he’ll just have Niall write up a quick speech with the words “team” and “team building” written a few dozen times. Everything else he just wings.”

Harry laughed. “Well then, what do you have for me?”

“Follow me,” Zayn said as he led him through the hanger to his office. Harry raised an eyebrow at this, but otherwise remained silent. There usually wasn’t much Zayn didn’t say in front of his workers. After all, they were all handpicked by him for his department. Having his super brain apparently really had its perks, Harry mused as Zayn closed the office door behind them. “Sit.”

“You know, you might be giving me my new case, but you’re not actually M,” Harry griped though there was no malice in his tone as he took a seat.

Zayn rolled his eyes as he sat in his own chair. “You’re in my domain now, Styles.”

“Because that doesn’t sound creepy at all,” Harry grinned.

Zayn laughed. “Okay, you little shit, listen carefully. This is going to be top secret, mind you. So don’t go blabbing to anyone about it. Priority one.”

This time it was Harry’s turn to roll his eyes. “Right, so don’t speed dial The Sun as soon as I walk out of your lair, got it. Come on, Q, can you cut the super secret spy shit and lay it on me? Besides, you suck at it.”

“It’s not my lair,” Zayn snapped, as he always did when Harry called it that. “Nevermind, I’m not going to get distracted. Okay, so this isn’t exactly in the cookie cutter team building line Liam’s been hankering on about.”

“I figured when you brought me in here,” Harry leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out. It had been a long flight from Buenos Aires. He just wanted his new assignment so he could go home, shower, and sleep.

“Right, well,” Zayn sighed, rubbing his eyes for a second. “We have reason to believe the Prime Minister is up to something.”

“Which Prime Minister?” Harry asked, leaning forward slightly.

“This one, ours, Cowell,” Zayn said. “We need to keep an eye on him.”

“What reason?” Harry raised an eyebrow. He didn’t like the man himself, hadn’t voted for his party, but he didn’t exactly seem sinister to him. Then again, he knew better than most not to judge a book by its cover. Zayn, for example, had the face and body of a young Adonis, but was one of the smartest people Harry knew. And he had it on good authority (Niall’s) that Zayn often spent weekends reading comic books and watching the Lord of the Rings saga.

“Just reasons,” Zayn said vaguely. “It’s not really important how we know. We just do.”

“Okay, well since that does fuck all to help me,” Harry rolled his eyes. “What do we think Cowell’s up to exactly?”

“Corruption?” Zayn said.

“Why did you say that like a question?” Harry asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“Because there’s been some information that leads us to believe there might be corruption,” Zayn shrugged. “M wants you to look into it. Oh, and we have your in.”

“Well, I should bloody well hope so when you’re not giving me much to go on,” Harry groaned. “What’s the in? Am I going to be working in his office? Tailing him? Seducing his Chief of Staff, that Anne Marie chick that’s always with him?” He shuddered at that. “Oh god, seducing him?”

“Hopefully not seducing anyone,” Zayn said quickly, a little too quickly actually. 

Harry looked at him suspiciously. “Alright, what’s my in then?”

“You’re going to make friends with his ministerial diary secretary,” Zayn said slowly.

“Why don't we just bug the big guy himself? Save me the trouble of filing a report when the mission is done.”

“Since you've apparently forgotten, we're not technically allowed to bug the PM,” Zayn rolled his eyes.

Oh yeah. That law. Harry couldn't be bothered to actually read the handbook, but he had skimmed it when he first started at MI6, young and naive and eager to please and overly excited. Even back then, his excitement wasn't enough to actually make him read the thing cover to cover. But he did know that by law they weren't allowed to bug the PM of the UK. Something about national security and diplomacy. Harry didn't care to know the details. 

“So make friends with the PA?”

“Yes, make friends,” Zayn said again. “With the ministerial diary secretary.”

“Which is kind of like a PA,” Harry rolled his eyes. Labels. “Is the PA under suspicion too?” 

“No, he's clean,” Zayn snapped.

“What aren’t you telling me, Zayn?” Harry looked at him through narrowed eyes again. 

Zayn hesitated for a second. “Look, the diary secretary, his name is Louis Tomlinson. He’s a mate of mine, a good mate.”

“Ah,” Harry sat back, understanding Zayn’s clear reluctance now. “Okay then. You know he could be guilty too.”

“He’s not,” Zayn snapped. He quickly realized himself and sighed, sitting back in his chair. “He’s not. Louis isn’t like that. But Liam said I’m too close to this, and it’s not really my area of expertise, is it? Extracting information from people? He’s my mate, Harry, just -- just be careful, yeah?”

Harry nodded, giving his silent word to Zayn. He couldn’t promise that nothing would happen to his friend, because if he was a part of whatever corruption the Prime Minister was up to, there was a strong chance he would go down too, but he could promise to tread carefully, more objectively than he would normally. After all the times Zayn’s gadgets had saved his life, he definitely owed him that.

“So,” he said casually. “Where am I meeting my new mate, then?”

“I'll set it up,” Zayn said.

“Great,” Harry leaned back in his chair. “So as far as punishments go, I'm getting off easy. File a report, and make nice with your mate. What's the catch?”

Zayn sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Liam doesn't really want to punish you,” he explained. “But you went off on an unsanctioned mission, H, and everyone knows. That kind of stuff can't happen, especially not right now with Winston and Walsh breathing down his neck. They've been around for a long time and their grievances can be heard well beyond our small subset of British intelligence. We don't need to make it any harder on Liam. It undermines his authority if he just lets you get away with it.”

“I know,” Harry admitted. It was a damned situation. He knew he hasn't exactly helped Liam just going off like that, but he had to follow his lead and there wasn't enough time to go through the necessary channels. He tried explaining that to Zayn now. 

“I get it and so does Liam,” Zayn shrugged. “He knows you know what you're doing. He trusts you to use your head. But Liam does still have to respond somehow, in case someone comes snooping. So technically, if anyone asks, you're grounded. This isn't technically a sanctioned mission either. No one is going to know you're looking into this, because no one knows we are looking into this.”

Harry nodded and stood. He could understand that. He knew there would probably be consequences when he went to Buenos Aires, and he knew he was still getting off easy. “Thanks, Q. Let me know when you set up the meet.”

Zayn nodded. “Before you go, wanna see what my new lipstick laser can do? I developed it for a mission Jade is on. It can cut through 10 feet of steel.”

“Is that even a serious question?” He followed Zayn out of his office and into the lair. Getting to test drive Zayn’s new toys? Not bad for a grounded agent.

\---

Louis didn’t get days off, he got hours. Sometimes many hours at a time. His days started an hour before the Prime Minister's and ended at least an hour after. He was attached to his phone at all times and his iCal was color coordinated to match the daily itineraries he printed each morning. He’d never intended to make a career out of personally assisting anyone, but he was excellent at it. 

His Wednesday evenings with Zayn were his standing nights off. They went to new pubs each week and were spectacularly terrible at every single quiz night. It had been a tradition since uni and that wasn’t about to change just because Louis worked for the PM and Zayn was living the real life IT Crowd, hiding out in some basement and getting paid to cause trouble all day. 

Sometimes the Wednesdays ended up being set ups. Sometimes they were terrible. Okay no, almost always they were terrible. Which was just as well anyway. Because Louis didn’t get days off. He barely had enough time to call his mum three times a week. He wasn’t sure he could even manage dating anyone when he was practically dating the Prime Minister. And his right hand (wo)man, used to be campaign manager turned tyrant of Downing Street, Ann Marie.

While he technically was Cowell’s diary secretary, Ann Marie was his boss. It was her coffee he fetched on his way into work. She sent him hourly updates, sometimes all hours of the day. He particularly cursed those email alerts on Thursday mornings when he’s just printed out his carefully coordinated itinerary at the small printing station in the corner of his living room and she’d already added revisions. It was too often too much to handle with the hangover he usually sported come Thursday mornings.

Fortunately, that was, quite literally, tomorrow’s problem. Because he was officially done work as of 15 minutes ago, and it was Wednesday night. That meant he was going to get proper smashed with his mate and probably get disqualified again from the pub quiz. Well, fuck it. He’d deal with the hangover tomorrow.

He walked into the pub, quickly spotting Zayn looking down at his phone, holding down a booth for them. Good man, he thought and grinned as he made his way over to him. 

“Hey, mate,” he smiled as he slid in across from Zayn.

Zayn looked up and broke into a small smile. “Finally made it, have you? And here I was beginning to think you’d stood me up.”

“Please, with a face like that, I doubt anyone in their right mind would stand you up, Malik,” Louis smirked.

“No one ever said you were in your right mind, Tomlinson,” Zayn shot right back.

“Oi!” He laughed. He was glad for the distraction Zayn brought from work. Theirs was an easy friendship, made stronger through mental breakdowns during finals week back at uni and one too many times catching the other in a compromising position. Okay, so maybe it was usually Zayn that had caught Louis with his pants down, figuratively and twice literally, but still. “Please tell me you are prepared to get completely smashed with me.”

Zayn flashed him sympathetic eyes. “Rough day at work?”

Louis nodded, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It had been a long one. Simon and Ann Marie had been locked away in his office almost all morning, and the she-witch had been a major pain from the moment they finally came out. Technically he wasn’t supposed to be talking about work with anyone. But it was Zayn. It didn’t really count. “I don’t know what crawled up Ann Marie’s arse today and died, but she was a right bitch more so than usual.”

Zayn whistled softly. “Is that even possible for her?”

“Apparently so,” Louis groaned, pressing his forehead to the table for a moment in exhaustion before he looked back at Zayn. “So, ready to get sloshed then?”

“Actually,” Zayn bit his lip, looking sheepish. That made Louis narrow his eyes at his best mate. He had seen that look before.

“What’s his name?” Louis sighed.

“Harry,” Zayn admitted after a beat. “He’s kind of a coworker?”

“Kind of? Who is it? The IT person that drives around in those geek vans instead of sitting around answering phone like some people, not mentioning names, you?” Louis smirked. He was actually a little curious, to be honest. Zayn never set him up with anyone from his work. They were always people Niall knew, and once, a bloke that Zayn had sat next to on the tube. That one had been -- interesting to say the least.

“Something like that, yeah,” Zayn coughed once, looking away. “Anyway, he’s cool. He’s one of my mates at work.”

“Okay,” he waited for Zayn to offer more. Usually Zayn had a list ready before Louis met any of the set ups.

“That’s basically it?” Zayn smiled slightly. “Look, he’s a cool guy, I think you guys could really hit it off and be good friends, you know?”

Louis sighed, shaking his head. “Well, what does he look like then?”

“What does that matter?” Zayn snapped a little too quickly. Louis raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed. “Sorry, um, work was, uh, tough for me today as well.”

Louis couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Oh? Did a little old lady need help finding her computer on switch again?”

Zayn joined in his laughter. “Okay, you wanker, go get us three pints, yeah? He should be here soon.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Louis saluted him before sliding out of the booth and heading for the bar.

\---

The pub near Euston Station wasn’t close to where any of them lived. But apparently, Louis had picked, at least that’s what Zayn had said. 

After Harry had left HQ, he’d gone home and taken a power nap after collecting his cat, Buttercup, from the sweet lady across the hall. Harry had dressed carefully for the meeting tonight, the non-date, or whatever it was meant to be. He was under explicit orders not to seduce, which was fine. He could totally handle that. And he was glad for once he could dress casually, in his black skinnies (the stretch of which he’d missed when kicking the shit out of his bad guy in Argentina, why didn’t they make dress clothes in spandex? Honestly.) and a cream silk button up. The outfit was the closest he’d felt to himself in a long time.

Harry entered the pub looking around for Zayn and for someone who looked like the photo he’d seen of Louis earlier. Short brown hair and pretty blue eyes. He spotted Zayn in a booth near the back typing on his phone and he made his way through the crowd near the bar towards him. It was busy for a Wednesday, but the board out front had said there was a pub quiz starting at 8.

Harry slid into the booth opposite Zayn, considering for a moment if Louis would choose to sit next to him or Zayn. He waited a moment, but Zayn didn’t react.

“I didn’t peg you as a quiz man, Q,” Harry said. Zayn lifted his eyes and sent a small glare his way.

“You’re late,” Zayn said. “Louis is registering our team. So good luck with the name.”

Before Harry could ask what he meant, a body crashed into Zayn and three pints slammed onto the table, a bit of beer splashing onto his thigh. 

“Oops,” Harry said, grabbing a napkin from the end of the table to rub against his jeans.

“Hi,” Louis said smiling widely from across the table. His eyes were bluer in person and Harry might just be fucked. “I’m Louis. Harry, right?”

“Yeah mate, it’s nice to meet you,” Harry said giving him a big smile. “I haven’t been to a quiz in forever.”

“Zaynie here is shit at them, which is surprising because his brain is so big, but we like to come out and lose every couple of weeks anyway.” Louis took a big drink of his beer, ignoring a glare from Zayn. “I’m glad you could make it this time.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Especially because that means there will be another person watching to make sure Zayn doesn’t cheat.”

“I don’t cheat Louis, honestly,” Zayn mumbled.

“We have literally been disqualified at least three times because you can’t keep off your bloody phone,” Louis said throwing his hands up.

“Tsk, tsk, Zaynie,” Harry quipped, a smirk on his face.

Zayn glared at him. “Call me that again and I will not be responsible for what I do to you.”

That slid the smirk right off his face. Because there was a number of very painful, very terrifying things Zayn could do to him, and Harry had the distinct feeling that he would not get caught for it.

“I think it's a great name,” Louis supplied. “Much better than Zayn.”

Zayn glared at him too. Much to Harry’s shock, Louis just grinned back at him. It always surprised Harry when people weren't terrified/appreciative of just what Zayn could do to them, not that he would do anything, probably. There was a 75% chance that Zayn’s glares were just looks, but still. Then again, he knew no one outside of the agency, Louis included, knew what Zayn was really capable of.

Harry smiled around his beer. He could see that they were close friends and he understood why Zayn was so indignant that Louis was not involved. But he could see that he was worried. And Liam must be as well if they were keeping this mission relatively off books. Well, granted the mission was to basically spy on the most powerful man in the nation to find out if he was corrupt and that would definitely not sit well with some people, but still. 

He could hear a microphone make a loud static hiss through the speakers and he saw Louis sit up a little straighter in the booth. 

“Happy Wednesday! It’s quiz night! For all my first timers, my name is Nick and there’s half off all pitchers. And if you’re not registered, too fucking bad because it’s time to start.” Harry turned around to see a tall brunette behind the microphone with a pitcher of beer on a stool next to him. “This quiz has three sections. The first is identifying pictures, the second is film, and the third is quizmaster’s choice. So buckle up.”

Nick grabbed the pitcher and took a big gulp from the side of it. Harry could see some of it wet the side of his shirt. “Okay, flip over your photo sheet and begin!”

Harry turned back around to see Louis flip over the sheet quickly and slam it back on the sticky table. Harry raised an eyebrow at Zayn.

“Louis is competitive at quizzes, he hates to lose.” Zayn said, not even looking at the sheet as Louis aggressively filled in the blanks under the photos.

“Shut up, Zayn. These are all Star Wars characters, how fucking easy.” He only had three of the twelve left to fill in. “Like seriously, are these meant to be challenging? They put Qui-Gon Jinn and Admiral Ackbar on here like it’s supposed to be hard.”

Harry looked at the last empty space on the sheet, the far left photo on the third row. “Who’s that last one then?”

Louis turned the sheet around, tapping his finger against the black and white photo of the alien. “You tell me, Harold.”

“Um,” Harry said thinking back to all of the Star Wars films. It had been ages since he’d had time to have a film night. He looked at Zayn to see if he could get any help, but Zayn wasn’t even paying attention. And that guy was supposed to have a genius IQ off the charts. Honestly.

“Don’t hurt yourself thinking so hard.”

“It’s that guy,” Harry started. “The one that Han kills in the cantina. Right? Like who shot first, no one knows.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“It’s going to have to be,” Harry said just as he heard Nick doing a final countdown for the photo section.

Louis smiled at him and began filling in the name upside down. 

“Greedo, right. I knew that.”

“Sure you did, Harold.” Louis finished off the rest of his pint. “Did I hear him say the pitchers are half price?”

Harry bought the pitchers for round two and Zayn for round three. They were increasingly buzzed as they made their way through the film section (surprisingly this only resulted in two arguments about Liam Neeson) and through Nick’s section, which ranged from current affairs to Welsh history, the latter of which caused a bit of jeering all across the pub. 

Harry knew he probably shouldn’t be drinking this much. Technically, he was working. But Zayn was a good friend, and Louis - well yeah, Louis was his mark, but he was also really funny and competitive and, like, his cheekbones? Maybe he’d had too much to drink.

They’d already had the last question, something about a hybrid form of grapefruit that Louis had had fun making up a name for and they’d already turned in their sheets. Maybe it was time he started actually doing some work.

“So Louis, what is it that you do? I don’t think you’ve said.”

Louis looked up from where he’d been lounging against Zayn and trying to mess up his hair. Zayn was halfheartedly glaring at the smaller boy, moving out of his way. His eyes were bright and glassy when he said, “Can’t say, it’s classified.” He started laughing a bit, teetering on the edge of the booth. “How about you?”

“Oh yeah? Same here. Classified.” Harry gave him a cheeky smile. He knew of course what Louis did for the PM, but he wasn’t meant to. 

“I thought you worked with Zayn?” He started making like he was typing on a computer. “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” He started laughing loudly. “IT must be such a drag, Z.”

Harry snorted, the idea of Zayn working IT.

“You’ve got no idea,” Zayn smiled. “Everyone I work with are such idiots.”

“You wound me! Though, luckily for me, we don’t really work together.”

“Then?” Louis asked. 

“Okay okay, everyone ready to hear who the biggest loser is?” Nick’s voice came out across the speakers before Harry could answer. The customers of the pub started pounding heavy on their tabletops creating a drum roll. “And the biggest loser is, Pacific Rim Job!”

There was a group of guys near the bar who let out a loud cheer. Nick went through the next few places, 9, 8, 7, and a tie for fifth. “In fourth place we have, The Titanic Swim Team.”

The girls in the booth in front of them cheered and Harry gave them a high five over his booth.

“Third place is… You’re a Quizard, Harry!”

“Aw fuck, so close!” Louis moaned across table.

“Third place is awesome!” Harry said.

“Oh sure, Harry, third place is great if you have low aspirations.” 

Harry could hear Nick call out the runner up and the winner. “At least we had a better name than those two teams.”

“Louis chose a special team name for your first time,” Zayn said, smirking next to Louis. Harry thought he saw a little blush on Louis cheeks, but it could have been the lighting. Or the beer, he wasn’t sure. “Usually we are Quiz on my Face.”

Harry let out a huge bark of a laugh, slamming the back of his head into the booth. “Wow, I honestly feel so special right now.”

“You should, I wouldn’t change the team name for just anyone.”

They had a moment, Harry was sure of it, right there, staring at each other across a sticky table in a pub near Euston Station. He felt it. Maybe if he hadn’t promised Zayn he would have tried to do something about it. Also, if Louis wasn’t a suspected corrupt politician in cahoots with his boss and all. He ignored the glare Zayn sent him.

He looked down at his watch, pretending that his vision hadn’t gone blurry. “I think I’ve got to get going. I had fun tonight.” 

“You should definitely come again some time,” Louis said smiling.

Harry nodded. “I’d love to. If you want to pass me your phone I can put my number in?” 

Again, he ignored Zayn as he winced slightly.

Louis pulled it out of his pocket and unlocked it. He was smiling when he handed it over and Harry almost felt bad that he was about to bug it. Still, he knew this was a job and Louis, well he was still his mark, despite how blue his eyes were when glassed over under the effects of alcohol. Despite how pretty his hair was when he’d been running his fingers through it all night. Despite the way he looked at Harry like maybe he wanted to take him home and never let him leave. When he handed it back to Louis, all of his calls, his texts, and his location would be monitored. But he’d also have Harry’s number, and Harry really hoped he’d use it.


	2. Chapter Two

Louis woke to three quick pings in succession. His phone was on his cheek, probably where he had dropped it when he’d turned off all three of his alarms that morning. Fuck. He was going to be so fucking late. He closed his eyes for a moment, one final moment before he had a heart attack, and then checked the time. He was so dead. 

He sprung out of bed and went through his entire morning routine at lightning speed, skipping his shower entirely in favor of extra deodorant and some dry shampoo. His hair was going to look so shit, he thought as he tried to shove it into a limp quiff.

He was afraid to look at his phone until he was ready to leave, he even took to walking in wide circles around it, just in case some sort of freak gravitational pull made him check his messages before he was mentally prepared. He was running out the door with his shirt untucked in the back and his jacket slung over his arm before he remembered to turn around and grab it off his bed.

Maybe it was better to check it when he was on the train. At least that way he wouldn’t have any service and it would be marginally less painful.

As he ran down the street he couldn’t help but think of the night before. Harry was really fucking cute. Like ridiculously so. Zayn didn’t specifically say it wasn’t a set up. He introduced him as a co-worker and said he hoped they could be friends, but they were flirting all night. They had quite a few moments. Louis was absolutely positive. And he did get his number. 

But sue him if in the morning it didn’t seem so easy to use. 

When Louis finally settled on a train after almost falling down the escalator and getting squished between the doors, he practically wilted against the closed doors of the carriage. He pulled out his phone, wincing before he even opened the messages.

Strike the 10 am meeting / Extend his lunch from 10:30 to 1 / You’re late.

Ann Marie was nothing if not succinct. Thankfully much of Louis job was done ahead of time. What they needed him for in the morning was the work he already completed the night before. Not that his lateness would be excused by any means. 

But the first two messages were the ones that caught Louis attention. He was mildly interested to know why the meeting with the Russian ambassador was being cancelled, but mostly focused on the second message. It meant Louis would get to take a longer lunch himself today, he thought happily, adding the times into his phone, color coded blue. Maybe the day wouldn’t be so bad after all.

\---

Harry woke to his phone ringing. He slammed his hand on it a few times hoping it would just please be quiet. Blissfully, for a moment it stopped. And then it began playing the Pink Panther theme at top volume. He reached out blindly, “Hello?”

“Good morning, 007. You’ve overslept.”

“Fuck off, Niall,” Harry mumbled into his pillow. He rested the phone on his pillow and pressed speakerphone. Holding the phone was too much, too early.

“Mr. Tomlinson has been active for one hour and twenty seven minutes already,” Niall said. “I’m pretty sure monitoring him was your job, not mine.”

Harry groaned loudly into his pillow, hoping maybe it would just consume him entirely because now he was stuck remembering how pretty Louis was spilling his beer all over Harry and how completely off limits he was. Zayn would kill him. And honestly, he didn't even really know how far this corruption ran. Louis could be out there with knives and bats just busting people's kneecaps for all he knew. Not likely though, he seemed too sweet for that. 

“So, since you’ve been slacking, I took the liberty of decoding his incredibly organized iCal. The color codes have all been sent to your phone,” Niall said. “You might want to start keeping tabs on him. Just a suggestion.”

“Wouldn’t want Liam to shoot me,” Harry mumbled. “Or worse, bench me.”

Niall let out a chuckle at Liam’s constant threats. Harry knew that Liam wasn’t serious, but with Liam it tended to be easier to go with it, rather than fight the system. There was also the chance that Liam was serious. He didn't want to find out, to be honest.

“Niall, I need you to tell me everything you know about Louis Tomlinson.” He heard a few keystrokes as Niall pulled up the file.

“He’s 25, the oldest of seven. Raised by his mum and a couple different step-dads. Above average testing in school. Played football and led his team in scoring. He’s a Man U fan. Went to King’s College and studied politics and history,” Niall paused his list. “Lived with Zayn Malik for three years. Graduated high, but not the top of his class.”

“So how did he begin working for Cowell then?”

“Looks like he started right before the campaign began. Not a whole lot of experience as a diary secretary, but if the gossip is to be believed, he’s more of an assistant to Cowell’s lovely henchwoman Ann Marie, who yes, I have had the distinct displeasure of meeting once before and she is just as bitchy as she seems.”

Harry hummed in response, thinking for a moment. “Niall, what do you think the chances are that Louis is actually involved in corruption?”

“Statistically? Or like, knowing Zayn, how likely is it that his best friend is enabling the Prime Minister of the UK to run a corrupt government?” Niall didn’t even wait for Harry to respond before continuing, “I’d say it’s a 50/50 toss up so far. It’s hard to tell any one person’s involvement for sure. But Louis definitely knows something, even if he doesn’t realize he knows it. That’s why you’re befriending him and waiting for him to slip. Since Mr. Corruption himself is off limits and all.”

‘Thanks, Ni.” Harry sighed and took the phone off speaker pressing it to his ears as he sat up in bed. “I’ll check over the schedule and see if I can come up with anything. You’re the best.”

Niall scoffed and said, “Don’t I fucking know it,” before hanging up.

\---

Niall just stared at him. Well, more like glowered. “You realize it took us 20 minutes to get here, right?” He asked for the millionth time.

Harry rolled his eyes, though 90% of his attention was on the door to the small cafe he had brought Niall to for lunch. Well, technically, coffee, but it was Niall so lunch was implied. Granted, the other 10% of his attention was on his phone. Louis hadn’t texted him yet. “I told you, his iCal changed. It wasn’t like I planned this. He was just supposed to be at work.”

“And,” Niall glared, totally ignoring him. “You realize we only get an hour for lunch, right?”

“Last week, you took a three-hour-long lunch,” Harry reminded him. “At the end of the day. So really you just went home three hours early. After you took your normal hour lunch break at 12. Let’s be real, Niall, Liam doesn’t care what you do as long as you don’t leave him.”

Niall just smirked as he looked over the menu again, not denying it. “I’m just saying, I don’t know how I got roped into your stalking.”

“Investigating,” Harry insisted. 

“Because I’m pretty sure,” Niall went on as if Harry hadn’t spoken. “Zayn could have come along on your stalking mission too.”

“Zayn’s too close to this,” Harry shook his head. “You know that. Besides, you and I both know you’re texting him minute by minute updates of my investigation anyway.”

“Also, while you’re stalking, can you get Louis to teach you his color coded system on his iCal, because I thought I was organized and somehow he puts me to shame?” Niall didn’t deny that he was texting Zayn either. Honestly the two were so obvious, and yet, so, so oblivious.

“Shit,” Harry quickly threw up his menu in front of him. Louis had just walked in. Of course the second Harry took his eyes away from the door, he had to walk in. Luckily, it didn’t seem like he had seen him.

“What? Is he here?” Niall said loudly, looking around. 

“Niall, shut up,” Harry hissed. He peeked out slowly over the top of the menu. Louis was standing at the counter, looking at a menu. And fuck, he looked hot. No, but he was totally off limits. Think of Zayn, he reminded himself. Zayn. Zayn. God, he really hoped Louis wasn’t involved in anything and it was just a misunderstanding. He was too pretty to end up in prison.

“Jesus, Styles, are you done ogling him yet?” Niall laughed.

“Shut up, Niall,” he said again, though he felt warmth radiate in his face.

“Aww, you’re blushing,” Niall cooed. 

“Of course I’m not, don’t be ridiculous,” Harry glared at him. He quickly raised the menu to cover his face completely when he saw Louis idly looking around. “Don’t look at him.”

“I honestly do not get how you’re a spy,” Niall shook his head.

“Why don’t you say it any louder there, Niall?” Harry snapped through the menu in Niall’s general direction. “I’m sure there’s a few people in China who didn’t hear you.”

“No one’s sitting even remotely close to us, calm down,” Niall said. “Also, your boyfriend is gone, you can lower the menu.”

Harry blushed again as he put down the menu. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Yet,” Niall added, smirking evilly. “Also, I’m totally telling everyone about your new boyfriend.”

\--

“You’re still not funny, Niall,” Harry rolled his eyes as they walked into M’s office. Niall had been making fun of him for the better part of their journey to the office from the coffee shop. Okay, the whole journey. And also while they were at the coffee shop when he realized why they were there. “Aren’t you done yet?”

Niall grinned at him as he sat across from Liam, placing his feet up on the desk much to Liam’s displeasure if the annoyed look was anything to go by. “Done? I haven’t even started, mate. This is never going to get old.”

Harry groaned. “It was old before you even started.”

“What the hell is going on? And, get your feet off my desk, Niall, now,” Liam ordered. He grabbed one of the coffee cups from the holder Niall set down on the desk by his feet.

Of course, Niall waved him off, otherwise ignoring him. Unsurprisingly, Niall was probably the only one who could get away with so blatantly ignoring M. Granted, Niall held Liam’s entire life and schedule in his hands, not exactly prioritized in that order, but still. 

“He was definitely your type, I think,” Niall said. “I can see why you want him to be your boyfriend.”

“Who does Harry want to be his boyfriend?” Liam demanded.

Again, he was ignored. “I don’t want him to be my boyfriend, don’t be a twat,” Harry rolled his eyes, though even he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. Because Louis was definitely his type. He was pretty and loud, and sassy. Oh so sassy. Still, he was also possibly a criminal. And as a spy in MI6, he was almost positive having a criminal for a boyfriend was against a rule somewhere in the handbook. He didn’t know for sure since he’d never read it, but it seemed like it would be a thing.

“Oh, you definitely had boyfriend eyes as you gazed at him from behind the menu,” Niall smirked. “Maybe you should ask him out instead of dragging me halfway across town for coffee and a sandwich. But that’s just me.”

“Who was he gazing at?” Liam edged forward. “Who should he ask out?”

“I wasn’t hiding, I was being covert,” Harry said. “You know, watching him. Following him around. Whatever.”

“You could probably watch him better if he was your boyfriend.”

Harry saw the exact moment Liam caught on because his eyes narrowed at him, very pointedly. “You’re talking about your mark?” He demanded. “For fuck’s sake, Harry, you better not be talking about your mark. You realize you are already on thin ice?”

“Of course we are, Liam,” Niall rolled his eyes at their boss. “Keep up.”

“You’re not supposed to flirt with your mark, Styles,” Liam said in indignation. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“Well, he definitely didn’t flirt today, if it’s any consolation,” Niall said casually. “A bit too hard while he’s bloody well hiding behind a menu.”

“Shut it,” he glared halfheartedly at the Irishman.

"If it's any consolation, I'm sure you'll get another chance to make him your boyfriend in the future," Niall said.

“Who’s Harry’s future boyfriend?” Zayn came into the office. He grinned when he saw an extra coffee cup awaiting him. He placed a quick kiss on Niall’s head in thanks, causing him to grin, and plopped down next to him in the remaining empty chair. “So who does Styles have his eye on now?”

“His mark,” Liam said slowly, his eyes pointedly on Zayn. 

Zayn immediately started at that, causing him to choke on his coffee. He turned to glare at Harry. “He’s not your future boyfriend.”

“Tell Niall that,” Harry muttered. It wasn’t like he was going around calling Louis his boyfriend. That was the annoying blonde secretary, thank you very much. Granted, he wouldn’t have minded pursuing something with him, if he had met Louis under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, he hadn’t. Maybe after they got all this figured out, a couple weeks probably to realize there's nothing going on, and he could take him out, for real.

“He’s not going to be Harry’s future boyfriend, Niall,” Zayn insisted to the boy next to him.

Niall’s grin didn’t leave his face. “Oh please, you didn’t see the look on boy wonder’s face here when your mate walked in, Q. It’s totally going to happen. I’m calling it now, and because you all lack such faith, I am calling dibs on best man now.”

“Oh God,” Zayn blanched, clearly the thought of Harry marrying his best friend too much for him.

“There will be no marrying of marks,” Liam groaned. “Do you know how many rules that breaks? I mean honestly, have any of you read the handbook?”

Two quick “no’s” filled the office, and a loud scoff from Niall. “I don’t think anyone but you has ever read that damned handbook, Liam, no matter how many times you try to get me to slip them in everyone’s office mail.”

“Hey, those handbooks are you?” Zayn asked in shock. “Why the hell am I getting them? Harry I can understand--”

“Heeeyyyy!” Harry whined.

“--but me? When have I ever broken the rules?”

“Never, babe,” Niall smirked at him.

Harry faked gagging. “As sickeningly adorable as your lame flirting is, can we move on now? To more important things maybe? Like how the sun will probably explode before you both stop being so dense?”

Both Zayn and Niall looked over at him, a mischievous look in their eyes. Oh crap.

“Hey, Zayn, how was the lovebirds’ date anyway?” Niall asked.

“It was nauseating. Also, I call Louis’ best man,” Zayn said. Harry knew this was more to torment Harry than actually accepting it.

“Hey, what about me then?” Liam demanded. “Wait, no, no, I am not taking part in this. There will be no wedding!”

“Well, technically--” 

“And no fake wedding either,” Liam cut off Niall, groaning. “Honestly, why do I keep any of you lot around?”

“Because without us you’re stuck with the likes of Winston and Walsh,” Niall said, to which there were four resonating shudders.

“Fine,” Liam sighed. “Now, get the hell out of my office and get to work. And I swear to God, Styles, if I get a wedding invitation, I am going to shoot you.”

\---

Louis meant to call Harry, truly he did. But he spent his weekend reworking Cowell’s schedule for the next week because of a last minute change with a Parliamentary meeting. Plus he watched an entire season's worth of 8 out of 10 cats while throwing leftover chips at Jimmy Carr’s face. So he really didn’t have time. 

It wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon that he really wished he had texted him. He was sitting at his desk outside the closed doors the PM and Ann Marie sat behind. Louis stared at his phone silently willing his fingers to get to work inviting Harry to the quiz that night. He knew he had better things to be doing. He had a long list of people he had to call and yell at and an even longer list of people whose call he needed to return.

He jumped about a foot and dropped his phone like a hot potato smack onto the desk when the door behind him opened. He heard Ann Marie’s snotty little sniff she always did when she caught Louis not doing his job. 

“I need you to get in contact with Lucas Boring,” she said, standing at the side of his desk. She was reading a pile of papers in her arms and not paying him the slightest mind despite speaking to him.

“From security? I’ve got his contact information in my phone,” Louis said picking the phone back up from the desk and thumbing through for Boring’s information. Louis remembered the man, stocky and quiet when he stood two feet behind the PM, but in front of Louis, as they walked in and out of buildings. 

Ann Marie sighed heavily. “If he was reachable by his mobile we would have already contacted him that way. He appears to have gone off the grid.”

She looked up from her papers and right at Louis. He almost got goosebumps. She dropped a small file with Boring’s photo pinned to the front onto his desk. “Find him.”

She walked back into Cowell’s office and the door closed heavily behind her. Louis let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and looked down at the file. The photo from Boring’s security pass looked like a mugshot and the flash was so bright his blond hair almost looked white. Where could he go about finding a missing person?

\---

Where the fuck did these people get off blowing up buildings in major world cities? Like Harry knew that’s what terrorists did, but they should probably stop because people were dying. Harry was on a plane heading back from Moscow. They’d heard there might be another attack that night and he was hoping he’d be able to stop it. This time he was even sanctioned to go.

But when his plane landed in the early afternoon, the suicide bomber was already walking in and tearing off the front entrance to the Russian White House. Harry stayed long enough to argue in rusty Russian for the bomb remnants and to collect them for the lab guys and Q to examine.

And now he was getting drunk on the plane. Harry hated when their intel was too little too late. If he’d been able to leave from London a little earlier. If they’d broken the code in the chatter a little sooner. He fished the olive out of the bottom of his martini glass and chewed it silently before swallowing the rest of his drink.

And to really top it all off, it had been over a week and he hadn’t heard a peep from Louis. Which was fine. Totally fine. Not what he expected because they’d had a good time and they’d been flirting, but yeah, it wasn’t a big deal. 

Harry was out of his chair in search of more alcohol. He’d drink anything at this point. He’d had to keep an eye on Louis since last Thursday, staying updated through his iCal. Harry wished all his marks could be so organized, but it was frustrating because it felt like he was only doing half his job. What was even the point of meeting Louis if he was going to be only involved in surveillance. And how long was he going to be grounded on this so far uneventful mission?

He found a few mini bottles of vodka underneath the bar and unscrewed the cap on one and drank it all in one go. No one had ever not called him before.

He staggered a bit going back to his seat, but it was probably just turbulence. The pilot, Mark, told Harry to buckle up for their descent and the words were fuzzy in his ears. Harry tossed one of the bottles onto the seat next to him and uncapped the other while he buckled his seatbelt.

He drank it thoughtfully as they landed, bouncing a bit almost causing him to cough up the liquid. His eyes watered a bit from the sting. He concluded that he could just do his job so much better if he were allowed to reach out to Louis. Harry had usually been the one that was hard to get, but maybe, for the case, he had to change that. Yes, definitely for the case. 

He made his way off the plane, shaking Mark’s hand, before exiting the airport. Harry waved down a taxi and rattled off an address before settling down in the back seat. He knew exactly what he needed to do. 

\---

Harry was definitely drunk. He knew he probably shouldn’t have drunk so much on the plane, after all he was technically on a mission, but well. Not like he could do anything about it now, and really, he was still 007.

That being said, breaking into Liam’s house undetected was only slightly more difficult than it usually was. He still managed, but he almost tripped the alarm. Twice.

It was late, but Harry knew Liam was still up. He would be up until he heard from Harry about the Moscow situation. He hadn’t really delayed reporting in for any particular reason. Hell, he hadn’t even known he was coming here to Liam’s until the taxi pulled up. He should have felt bad for making Liam stay up so late when they had work so early, and well, he did feel a little guilty about it. But he really needed to talk to Liam.

That being said, he wasn’t exactly sure why he was standing back in the shadows of Liam’s study as he waited for his boss. He was pretty sure Liam had upgraded his security measures after the last time Harry had broken in, and really, Liam should be impressed he was able to crack it. Especially when it highlighted the flaws in his security. While the study was empty now, it was definitely where Liam had set up camp while he awaited Harry’s call in, as evident by the strewn papers, and multiple coffee cups lining the desk. He figured, knowing Liam, his boss was probably grabbing another cup and would return soon. Hopefully soon at least.

But Harry didn’t have to wait too long because the door opened minutes later.

“M,” Harry stepped forward before the door even fully opened.

Liam jumped slightly, causing his drink to spill on his hand. “For fuck’s sake, Styles,” Liam groaned, switching his cup to the other hand to suck on the burned sink. “I swear to God one day I’m just going to shoot you. I told you to use the front door like a normal person. Better yet, why the fuck didn’t you just call me?”

“And where’s the fun in that?” Harry grinned.

Liam looked over him carefully. “Are you drunk?”

“Just a bit,” his dimples flashed.

His boss glared at him. “You realize you were supposed to be working, right? You were sent to Moscow to work. You weren’t supposed to fucking get drunk!”

“Well, technically, I got drunk on the way home, so really it was after hours, kind of, maybe,” Harry said thoughtfully. “Plus why would you put a mini bar on the jet if we weren’t meant to use it?”

Liam just sighed, shaking his head, mumbling something about the handbook, though Harry didn’t quite catch it. He sat down in his chair and gestured for Harry to sit across from him. “Tell me about Moscow then.”

He frowned. “Suicide bomber. It went off before I could stop it. And before you ask, yes, I had the bomb remnants sent to Q already.”

Liam nodded grimly, rubbing his eyes. “Two bombs in a week, Jesus Christ. What the hell is going on?”

Harry’s frown deepened. Liam sounded exhausted, more than just from a lack of sleep it sounded from his tone. “Are you okay, M?” he asked.

“Harry, we’re not at work, you can call me Liam,” he just rolled his eyes.

“Okay,” Harry smirked slightly. “Are you okay, Liam?”

“You little shit,” Liam grinned at him. “Yeah, I’m good. Just a huge fucking mess this whole thing, especially with Walsh and Winston breathing down my neck, waiting for me to mess something up. I really need answers for this PM thing, like yesterday. I need to do something right since apparently keeping you as an agent is going to send me to an early grave, and probably fired.”

Harry nodded, frowning slightly again. Oh yeah. He remembered why he had come here in the first place. “About that…”

Liam looked at him pointedly. “You can get me the answers, can’t you?”

“Yeah, of course, Li,” Harry rolled his eyes. But then he sighed and bit his lip. “It’s just. Louis hasn’t called me yet? And I didn’t grab his number so I can’t text him.”

“Don’t you have his schedule?” Liam raised an eyebrow. “I mean honestly, Styles, you’re not an amateur. Figure out a way to get us what we need.”

“That’s the thing,” Harry said. “I don’t think my current approach is going to cut it fast enough right now. I mean clearly this guy isn’t looking for a new friend, yeah? Otherwise he would have called me.”

Liam sat back in his chair, his look scrutinizing as he looked at Harry. Harry blushed slightly, feeling as if his boss was definitely looking right through his bullshit right now. “So what are you saying? Should I put someone else on it?”

“No,” Harry said quickly. “I can do it. I just – I need to try a different approach?”

“Such as?” Liam prompted.

“Such as,” Harry said in exasperation. “I think I need to approach this as a – more than friends manner.” He knew this was going to be a delicate decision, what with Zayn and all. But it had to be done for the mission. He had to get to Louis since the PM was off limits. God only knew how high and far the corruption with the PM ran, and seeing as he was kind of the highest seat of power in the UK, it could potentially be very bad. Harry definitely had his doubts about the PA’s involvement, but waiting for Louis to make the first move clearly wasn’t working. He’d have to change the game.

Liam just sighed, and looked down for a second at his nails, deliberating. “Zayn isn’t going to like it.”

“Zayn doesn’t like anything but Niall,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“This isn’t a joke,” Liam glared at him, though there wasn’t really any malice in his tone or expression. Harry knew Liam really cared about Zayn, about all of them. He wasn’t just their boss, he was their friend. Granted, it was more a lowkey friendship so he couldn’t be accused of favoritism, but the affection was still there.

Harry sighed. He ran a hand through his curls. “Look, I know it’s not, Li, but I can’t do this the right way if I’m just taking it slow and waiting for him to want to be my friend. And I can’t just actively pursue him for friendship. If he is a part of whatever the hell Cowell is doing, he’s going to be onto me if I do. But if I’m pursuing him for romantic reasons, he could think I just took a fancy to him.”

Liam was obviously deliberating. Harry knew his argument made sense. He may be drunk but he was still the best at his job. “Fine,” Liam said finally. “But I don’t think we should tell Zayn.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. He had figured that would be Liam’s call. “You mean you want me to lie to my teammate?” 

“Oh fuck off, Styles,” Liam scoffed. “Before I bring up the fact that you couldn’t get a bloke to call you.”

Harry’s entire demeanor changed. Fuck. Louis hadn’t called him. It had been a week and still, nothing. That was just not something that happened to him. He always got called. He groaned and leaned forward on Liam’s desk, dropping his forehead on his arms. “What the fuck did I do wrong? I was charming as fuck. Like do you know how many times I flashed my dimples at him, Li? The entire night. I don’t know how to process this.”

Liam had the audacity to laugh at him, which in turn made Harry sit up and glower at him. “Maybe he’s not susceptible to the Harry Styles Charm oh so many others have fallen for.”

“You’ll be eating your words when I’m done, Liam Payne,” Harry frowned. “I was still trying to befriend him that night. He hasn’t had the full Harry Styles boyfriend experience.”

Liam laughed again. “Mate, I don’t think you’ve ever had the Harry Styles boyfriend experience.”

“Are you saying I’m not boyfriend material?” Harry demanded. He didn’t even know why he was arguing this. He really wasn’t boyfriend material. At least, not for real. And it wasn’t like he’d ever really been interested in that lifestyle anyway, the whole boyfriend thing with the dating to get to know someone and not just get in their pants. It was kind of hard to want when you were constantly sent on missions that could end in your death. Still. “I’ll have you know I could be an excellent boyfriend.”

“Right, which is clearly evident from all the boyfriends you’ve had,” Liam rolled his eyes, smirking. 

“I’ll show you,” Harry stood up, still glaring at his boss. Yeah, so he was definitely drunk. 

Liam just continued smirking and shook his head. He stood and stretched, clearly getting ready to turn in for the night. “Please do. In the meantime, the guest bedroom is yours, yeah? You know where the spare towels are. Get some sleep. Because if you’re not at the office by 9am sharp, I’m definitely going to shoot you.”

Harry didn’t reply, merely getting up to follow Liam as he started to leave the study. But then he collided into Liam’s back when the man stopped abruptly, looking over his shoulder at him. “Harry, just be careful, yeah? He’s still a mark, and he might still be guilty.”

“I know.” He didn’t know what else to say.


	3. Chapter Three

Harry wanted to stab his alarm. Yup, he had decided. He was going to grab a knife and just run it through. Later though, when he wasn’t hungover and when he didn’t actually need his phone, which evidently held the alarm, to follow his mark. After this mission, he definitely was going to stab it in the face - er, screen.

He groaned and sat up, cursing silently as he turned the alarm off. He’d gotten only a few hours of sleep and his head was killing him, but he eyed the paracetamol tablets and glass of water Liam had left for him. Bless that man, he thought, as he quickly took the pills, chugging the water. He sighed and rubbed the sleep for his eyes. Why the hell did he need to be up so early for anyway?

He remembered with a jolt. Louis. He had checked the PA’s iCal schedule last night, before he had passed out. Now that he had Liam’s blessing to actively pursue him, he had to up his game. Louis was scheduled to arrive at the train station at half six. Which meant Harry had exactly 45 minutes to get ready and get all the way out to the docklands to “accidentally” run into him, maybe invite him for a quick cuppa before work. He groaned again and got out of bed. He really needed this hangover to disappear immediately.

He showered quickly, knowing there was still probably soot from the explosion yesterday in his hair. He really fucking hated bombs. And fuck. He hadn’t brought any clothes with him. Because technically, he hadn’t planned on coming over to Liam’s after Moscow, let alone sleeping over. He sighed and went to raid Liam’s closet. Luckily his boss was in his shower in his en suite, so Harry quickly rummaged through his closet, grabbing a pair of skinny black jeans Harry hadn’t even known Liam owned and a maroon t-shirt. And then he hightailed it out of there when he heard Liam’s water turn off. He knew Liam wouldn’t really care if he wore his clothes, but okay. He’d care. Because apparently last time, there was a mishap with a mission and a cut up shirt and some blood - okay, it had been a few times.

Still, he had to go “accidentally” run into Louis and seduce him. He couldn’t go in the clothes he wore yesterday, wrinkled and dirty as they were. Hell, they smelled like smoke. He got ready quickly, running his hands through his curls to set them the way he wanted. Nothing else to do about that really, and he was out. He walked briskly to the road and hailed a taxi, telling the driver which station to go to. Thankfully he was going from Liam's because his own flat would have been twice as far. He sighed and settled back before taking out his phone and checking Louis’ iCal again, just to make sure there was no change. He locked it and pocketed it, smiling. The Custom House DLR station Louis took to get to work was about 20 minutes away. And then Operation Get Into Louis’ Pants and Brains would be a go. Okay, so there was a reason he wasn’t M himself and at last a small part of that had to be that he was clearly shit at coming up with mission names. Okay, so maybe that didn’t have anything to do with it, but he knew he was terrible at it. No matter, he’d get Liam to think of a good one for him later.

He was silently staring out the window when the taxi finally pulled up to the station. “You know there’s closer ones to you, yeah?” The driver raised an eyebrow as Harry handed him the fare.

“I know,” Harry said vaguely and stepped out, quickly checking the time. Louis should arrive in about 5 minutes. Harry found a place to wait until he saw Louis. It wasn’t really hidden, but it was hidden enough that Louis wouldn’t see him when he headed to the train from the direction of his flat. Then his plan could begin. 

\---

Harry was late for work. Liam was probably going to shoot him, especially since he had to debrief them on Moscow. And yet, he didn’t even care much about the fact that Liam was probably going to bench him with so much paperwork he’d never see the light again. No, because he was too thrown by the fact that Louis hadn’t shown up. Harry had stood in his spot, watching the platform for the better part of half an hour before he couldn’t wait anymore and had to leave for HQ. He’d checked the PA’s (no matter how many times Zayn glared at him for calling Louis Simon’s PA instead of his ministerial diary secretary he was still referring to him as a PA) iCal about 50 times to see if he’d missed anything. But nothing changed, half past six, Custom House. He knew this was the station he always took to work. Hell, he’d followed him around, investigating no matter how many times Niall called it stalking, for the last week to this very station. And yet he hadn’t showed. Depressed that his plan couldn’t begin yet, he entered the station himself and took the DLR and then the circle line to HQ, on the other side of town. He’d just have to try harder. He groaned. How was it this hard to seduce one bloody PA? 

“Okay, two questions,” Liam held up two fingers at him as he fell, dejected, into the seat next to Niall in Liam’s office. He grabbed the last coffee cup sitting in the holder. Bless Niall. “Why didn’t you wait for me, we could have gone in together? And you left earlier than me, how are you still late?”

Niall and Zayn were also looking at him expectantly, and he grimaced, not yet ready to face Zayn. Sure, he was a super spy, but Q was the brains behind the super spy. He was pretty sure Zayn could end him in too many painful ways to count, and still, somehow get away with his murder. “I was er - pursuing that, uh, lead? You know, the one we were talking about last night?”

Liam’s eyes widened just fractionally as his gaze darted to Zayn quickly and back. “Right,” he cleared his throat. “Did it, er, did it go okay then?”

“No,” Harry groaned.

“Okay, what the hell are you two on about?” Niall demanded.

“Nothing,” the two said, quickly.

“Bunch of idiots, I swear,” Zayn mumbled, which made Niall laugh and reach over to try to mess with his hair. He batted the blond’s hands away, though there was a small smile now playing on his lips. 

“Oi, are you two going to keep flirting, or can we start?” Harry demanded, annoyed that his own seduction was going so poorly. What had gone wrong in this world?

Niall just grinned at him. “No need to get your knickers in a twist, mate. I get you probably haven’t gotten any yourself in a while, but we’ll head to the bar tonight, yeah? Help you pull and all.”

“So quit your bitching,” Zayn added.

Harry smirked. “Whatever. Moving on, yeah? M?”

“What, oh right?” Liam started, taking his eyes off of Harry’s shirt, which he apparently had been staring quite intently at for the last few minutes, a small frown on his face. He cleared his throat. “Styles, report on your findings yesterday.”

Niall rolled his eyes. “Liam, it’s literally just us in here. You don’t have to call him Styles.”

“Shut it, Horan,” Liam said, though he was smirking slightly.

“Anyway,” Harry cut in before Niall opened his mouth again. “I was definitely too late to stop it, just by moments unfortunately. It was a suicide bomber. Took out the entire front of the Russian White House, and killed the power for probably half the road? It was chaos in the square so I couldn’t get too close when the Russian authorities arrived. They did tell me they had no leads though. Apparently, the cameras on the street had been taken out with infrared right before the attack? Bloody useless, the Russians. Q, you got the remnants, yeah? It was a bitch getting them from the Russian authorities, let me tell you.”

Zayn nodded and leaned forward, ready to continue on with his side of the report. “I was up most of the night studying it. It’s really weird.”

“How so?” Liam asked.

“How I actually got the Russians to give them up, I know,” Harry said, slightly offended none of them appreciated how much effort that had taken. Like the Russians would ever give anything up. He'd had to use every ounce of his charm. 

“So every bomb is a little different, yeah? Mostly based on the maker’s style, and often, the bigger names will have some kind of signature on it. No, not their name, Niall,” he added quickly when he saw the blond open his mouth, and ignoring Harry’s comment. “It’ll be something small, yeah? An indentation, a mark, something to identify it.”

“So the one I painstakingly got from the Russians had a mark?” Harry leaned forward, raising an eyebrow.

“No absolutely not, which is the weird part,” Zayn corrected. “There was nothing. I mean, even if there was, we probably wouldn’t have been able to identify who the mark belonged to, but it could have been a lead.” He shrugged. “Anyway, so it got me thinking, I’d seen another bomb remnants without any mark either recently.” He looked pointedly at Harry.

“The one from Argentina?” Liam asked.

“And the one from Jakarta.”

“Well we know I went to Argentina when our only real suspect from Jakarta was spotted there,” Harry added. “The bomb remnants were a lot easier to get in Argentina. They were so much easier than the Russians.”

“So those two are definitely connected,” Liam said.

“I’d say so,” Zayn said. “Almost like a lack of a mark is their mark. Anyways, so I checked those two. There was nothing on those either. I read the report first, because I’m usually thorough enough in them, but I had to make absolutely sure. So I checked over the remnants again for the Argentina and Jakarta bombs. Because that leads me to my next thing.”

“Oh please, keep us in suspense, Q,” Niall rolled his eyes.

“The bombs are similar,” Zayn said, shooting a halfhearted glare at Niall. 

“So they’re the same?” Harry asked.

“Not quite. I said similar, not the same. It’s hard to explain,” Zayn sighed. “Okay, so you know a bomb has a bunch of different parts, yeah? The charge, the pin, the detonator, the nitroglycerin, the fuse, etc, etc. So the thing is, this Moscow bomb, it has a lot of the same parts, but it also has a few key differences. The payload, which is the amount of the substance, usually nitroglycerin, that is needed for the explosion, the fuse, and the detonator for a few. So the Jakarta bomb was a timed explosion. And I was able to crack the Argentina bomb, and it was definitely detonated remotely by a mobile phone. I am positive about that. Then, in Moscow, it was obviously the suicide bomber, so the fuse and detonator had to be on hand. Granted, this is really just what I was able to derive from the remnants, but I think I’m right about this.”

“You’re always right about everything,” Niall winked at him. “What are you right about this time?”

“It seems like they were set off by the same person, or group? Since the Argentina and Jakarta bomber is in custody in Argentina and the third was a suicide. I’d say it’s definitely some group. It also seems like they were kind of going by trial and error? Testing -- something? Different pieces? Different methods? I’m not sure about that part. But I am almost positive they’re somehow connected.” Zayn rubbed his eyes.

“Okay, so this is bigger than we thought,” Liam sat back after a moment.

“Why Indonesia, Argentina, and Russia then, though?” Niall asked, his face scrunched up in confusion. “Those countries don’t exactly have much -- well, anything really, to do with each other.”

“We’re missing something,” Harry said decidedly. “Thankfully, I was able to get the bomb remnants from the Russians.”

“There’s nothing more I can get from the bombs, Harry,” Zayn said. “Trust me, I was up all night analyzing.”

“No, I’m not saying from the bombs. Just -- something,” Harry said. “Whatever the fuck is connecting all this.”

“Well, we better figure it out soon, before another bomb goes off somewhere,” Niall said. The others silently agreed. 

“And until we figure out what that is, the only thing we have is similar bombs. That's not enough to do anything. Also,” Liam said after a few moments, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked calculatingly at Harry. “I thought I told you not to wear my clothes anymore.”

“Well,” Harry said abashedly. “I didn’t have anything to wear this morning, not clean anyway. And I had to go, you know. Besides, you’re making a big deal out of nothing. It was one time, Liam, and I replaced the shirt.”

“It was six times, and you never replaced any of them,” Liam glared.

“Oh yeah,” Harry remembered. “Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, right? Besides, I did manage to get the Russians to give up something. I mean I think that makes up for it.”

“We get it! You convinced the Russians to give up the bomb remnants, that's still my shirt!” Liam continued to glare at him. 

“I am so under appreciated,” Harry sniffed. “I work and I work, and still nothing. Do you know how much charm and effort I had to use to get the Russians to give those remnants up?”

“Yeah, and when that charm and effort didn't work?” Niall snorted. 

“I gave them Zayn’s dick pic,” Harry smirked.

“That would definitely work,” Niall agreed. Zayn and Liam rolled their eyes. 

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Come in,” Liam sat up straight.

“M, I need clearance to -- oh,” Walsh walked in. Harry’s eyes narrowed. There was just something about the man he didn’t like. Granted, it could have been that he constantly tried to undermine Liam, and was just overall a general shit, but still. “The Musketeers together as usual, well and Niall.”

“I know it's hard for you sometimes, Walsh, but there's actually four of us in here. I know counting to four can be difficult, but it's the number after three,” Harry said casually.

“And I’ll have you know, we prefer the term The Marauders,” Niall rolled his eyes. “Dibs on Remus Lupin.”

Walsh rolled his eyes as Harry laughed. Zayn just shook his head, though a smirk played on his lips. And Liam, well -- Liam just sighed as per usual. “You needed something, Walsh?”

“I didn’t know M was four people now,” Walsh glared at him. “Or can you not handle your job on your own?”

Harry glowered and stood up, facing Walsh. “I’ll show you how he handles his job, Walsh.”

But Walsh just smirked at him, which of course angered him more.

Liam sighed again. “Guys, enough. Styles, Q, we’re done with the debrief anyway. You can go.”

“And the Irishman?” Walsh smirked.

“The Irishman has a name,” Zayn snapped.

“Yeah, we already went over this,” Niall rolled his eyes. “Remus Lupin.”

“Niall is my secretary, he stays,” Liam stood. This time, he wasn’t looking exhausted or worn. He stood tall, glaring at Walsh, causing Harry to smirk. This time, he stood as Liam, their leader. “Harry, Zayn, you can go.”

“Aye, aye, boss,” Harry saluted him, and followed Zayn out, his shoulder checking into Walsh on the way. Okay, so it was a bit childish of him, but at least he didn’t shoot him. 

\---

Louis wished he didn’t have extensive experience finding missing persons. He knew it wasn’t standard for a ministerial diary secretary, but Ann Marie was not a woman you explained your job description to and then still expected to have a job after. He’d learned pretty quickly how to find someone and how to do it fast, but as far as he could tell Lucas Boring was no longer in England.

But that answer wasn’t good enough.

He’d stayed at Downing Street until nearly midnight, going home for a quick power nap, before returning to work so early the DLR wasn’t even running yet. He had to find Boring.

So if Lucas Boring wasn’t in England, Louis needed to look abroad. If Lucas had been missing for just over a week, Louis had a bit of a window to scan outgoing flights for his information and if all else failed, he’d have to call in a favor.

While his system was scanning for Boring, Louis set off to make a cuppa. As the kettle was heating up, he considered if he should use a mug or a bowl. What he really needed was a caffeine IV, but he wasn’t sure that would be appropriate at the workplace. BBC News was playing on the TV next to the coffee station and they were covering a terrorist attack in Moscow. Louis poured the hot water into his mug and dropped the bag in to let it brew while he watched a reporter stand in the rubble of what once was the front of the Russian White House.

The sight sent shivers down his spine.

He threw out the teabag and went back to his desk feeling a little sick to his stomach. When he checked the computer there were no outgoing flights listed with Boring’s name. That made him feel even worse. He had one final tactic, but it wasn’t one he liked to use.

He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out the small locked box he kept in the back. He entered the code into the keypad and from inside he pulled out a phone. Once it was turned on he entered a number he never dared to program into anything.

“Hey, it’s Tomlinson. I need a favor.”

\---

Louis needed a drink. Or four. No, what he really needed was to get drunk. Very, very drunk. Ann Marie had not been happy with the news that he needed more time to find Boring. Honestly, he tried to use that phone as infrequently as he could. And generally, he got away with it. He’d become very skilled with his google searches and the limited legal resources the PM allowed him to access.

He sighed and slid into the booth of the little cafe where he was supposed to meet Zayn for lunch. He’d already texted Louis to tell him he would be a little late, something about being held up at work. Idly, Louis wondered if some old lady needed help turning on her iPhone. Probably. The only reason he had texted Zayn to meet up for lunch was because he needed a distraction. Ann Marie was stressing him the fuck out.

She was usually an eight to an eight and a half out of ten on the bitch scale, but he was pretty sure she had broken the norm today. She was outdoing herself with the scathing remarks and cold stares and he understood why this was important, but it wasn’t like they hadn’t dealt with worse. Hell, he remembered Cowell’s campaign, and particularly his opposition. It was definitely not sunshine and rainbows every day for them.

He really needed to stop thinking about this. He checked his phone quickly for an update from Zayn, which of course there wasn’t any. Because fucking Malik was probably helping some old lady with her damned toaster, or Microsoft Word or whatever. He pointedly looked away from his bag on the chair next to him, where it was. He knew he should probably check it too. Maybe there would be an update. Maybe he could finally calm the hell down then. But. Fuck. Okay, he was going to do it. Just a quick look, that’s all. 

His fingers twitched as he reached into his bag, and grabbed the phone. Quickly typing in the code, he checked if he had any messages. And of course he didn’t. Not yet at least. His source had never failed him before, and he knew he wouldn’t this time. 

He sighed and decided to get a cuppa while he waited for his shit of a best mate. He was at the counter, waiting for the girl to bring him his Yorkshire tea when he heard the door chime, and then, “Louis?”

He turned around quickly, recognizing the voice immediately. Shit. “Um, hey, Harry. Hi.”

For some reason, Harry looked a mix of confused, shocked, and slightly pissed to see him. Granted, that last one might have been because he had never called him, but still. “You’re here.”

“You’re very observant, aren’t you?” Louis asked, a small smirk on his lips.

Harry shook his head, and smiled after a beat, his dimples flashing at him in full force. Fuck, he was pretty. Why hadn’t he called him again? “What are you doing here?”

“Well, there’s this thing called lunch, you see, Harold,” Louis rolled his eyes.

Harry frowned for a second, though there was no malice in his eyes. But then, he broke into a grin. “I meant, I didn’t know you worked around here too.”

“I don’t,” Louis said bluntly. Harry raised an eyebrow at him after a few moments, when Louis didn’t provide any more information. “Classified, remember?”

That made Harry smile brightly at him. Fuck, did he mention how pretty he was? “Oh yeah, I forgot. All top secret.”

“You better believe it,” Louis smirked.

“Your tea,” the girl behind the counter called his attention.

He beamed at her. “Thanks, love.”

That was when the girl noticed Harry standing behind him. Because of course she did. “Hi, Harry!” She said brightly. Oh, so she knew him. “The usual?”

“Yup, thanks, Kate,” he smiled at her as she rushed around to make him a drink. “How’s your courses this term?”

“Kicking my arse, but I’m getting by,” she smiled when she handed it to him. He went to hand her a few pounds, but she shook her head. “You know I’m not going to take your money, stupid.”

He grinned, his dimples again out full force. “Thanks. Hang in there, you’re almost done.”

“Thanks, Harry,” she smiled and turned to the next customer.

Harry turned back to Louis, who was smirking at him. “Does that face get you free things everywhere?”

“You’ll have to come out with me some time, and see for yourself,” he said, smirking back. 

“Cheeky.”

“So, you never did answer,” Harry said casually. “What is Louis Tomlinson doing on this side of town?”

Louis shrugged. Suddenly, he had a plan. He had his distraction. What secret phone? “Meeting Zayn for lunch. But he’s not here yet. So come on, Curly, you can keep me company while I wait.”

“Gee, thanks,” Harry answered sardonically, though he easily followed Louis back to his booth sliding in across from him.

“How come you got to get out early and poor Zayn is stuck helping little old ladies with their microwaves?”

“Um, what? Oh yeah, IT. IT people don’t deal with microwaves,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Also, our jobs are a little different.”

“Vague,” Louis said.

“Classified,” Harry corrected, taking a sip of his drink.

Louis grinned at him. They fell into a comfortable silence for a bit.

“So,” Harry said after a few minutes. “You never called me.”

Louis winced. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t actually expected Harry to bring it up. Hell, he was banking on him not bringing it up. He raised an eyebrow at the boy across from him. “Were you waiting for me to?”

Harry bit his lip, and nodded, looking down at his hands, a blush creeping up his cheeks. And fuck, he looked even prettier. “I was hoping you would,” he said finally.

“I’m sorry, work has been a little hectic,” Louis said after a beat. It wasn’t a lie. He was just really really forgetting why he hadn’t called Harry.

Harry grinned at him. “Classified jobs can be like that, I guess. Very time consuming and all.”

He laughed. “Something like that, yeah.”

“I’m just messing with you,” Harry smiled. “I understand. I mean, I wish you had called, because we, uh, well I thought we really hit it off that night and I guess I just wanted to get to know you better?”

“Yeah, I had fun,” Louis said truthfully. He really had. And he definitely agreed about them hitting it off.

“So maybe we can hang out again sometime then?” Harry prompted, looking down slightly. Jesus, he was cute. “Without accidentally running into each other, I mean?”

Louis sighed. “I -- look, Harry, I wasn’t kidding when I said work was hectic. I don’t really get much time off.”

“I’m very flexible,” Harry said, his voice low as he looked up at Louis through his eyelashes.

Louis’ heart stopped for a moment. He was sure of it. “That’s um -- that’s good to know.”

Harry laughed. “I meant I can accomodate your schedule, you perv.”

Louis coughed. “Obviously, I knew that.”

“Sure you did.”

“I did.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

They were just staring at each other now, smiles on both their faces. Louis knew he’d probably regret it, but he really did want to get to know the pretty boy across from him. He opened his mouth to tell him so when they were interrupted by another presence.

“Hey, Lou, sorry I’m late,” Zayn said, sounding slightly out of breath. “Work stuff.”

“Old ladies and microwaves, we figured,” Louis smirked at his best mate.

“We?” Zayn rounded to look at Harry, an almost unreadable expression coming across his face. It looked almost like anger? But that didn’t make sense. After all, Zayn was the one that had tried to set him up with Harry. He’d really have to thank him for that one day.

“Yes, me and Harold here,” Louis grinned.

“Harold?” Zayn raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, that’s what I said,” Louis rolled his eyes. “Are you going to just keep repeating everything I say? Or are you going to sit down? I’m bloody starved. And I have to get back to work soon, before everything falls apart.”

“Actually, I should get going,” Harry said suddenly, stepping out of the booth before Zayn sat down. “Work calls.”

“Yes, wouldn’t want those microwaves to go unattended, after all.”

“Or the old ladies,” Harry winked. “By the way, Zayn and I are going out for a drink with a few friends after work. You should come.”

Louis deliberated this for a second. His schedule blowed, and he knew he’d be working this weekend. And of course, he still needed the update from the phone. He wouldn’t be able to leave until he got the call. “I’ll think about it,” he said vaguely.

“Please do. Maybe you’ll actually call me this time,” Harry grinned. He turned to go, but stopped last minute to turn and look at him again, a smirk playing on his lips. “Oh, and I wasn’t just talking about accommodating your schedule.”

Louis was definitely sure his heart stopped that time.

\---

Louis had to sit in the park for twenty minutes after lunch to calm down after being assaulted by Harry’s dimples for nearly half an hour. He stared at the ducks wishing he had something to feed them, but not bread, because last time he fed the ducks with his youngest sister Doris she calmly informed him that bread was bad for duckies. She was a very wise four year old.

Just as he was thinking of getting up and going back to work, the phone began ringing. Not his phone, the phone.

“Tomlinson,” he answered.

“Lucas Boring entered Argentina last Tuesday morning with forged papers,” said the man on the line. “He is currently being detained by the Argentinian authorities under suspect in an unknown, open investigation.”

Louis swallowed hard. That was fine, totally fine. Fuck. “Thanks.”

The line went dead. Louis lowered the phone and pulled off the back. He took out the sim card and threw it in the closest bin. He would get another one on his way home from work.

He walked out of the park and across the street before heading back to Number 10 and realized all of his giddiness from lunch had disappeared. He needed another dosage of Harry’s charm to get him through the day.

Once he was inside, he stood outside Cowell’s office for a few moments before taking a deep breath and knocking. Ann Marie yanked open the door a second later, levelling him with a cold look.

“Did you need something, Louis?”

“I’ve found Boring.”

If Ann Marie could look surprised, Louis was positive this was her surprised face. Her right eyebrow twitched, just a fraction upwards, and her lips pursed. Louis let out a silent cheer as she let him into the office. The PM was sitting in his oversized leather chair with a stack of papers in front of him, but he smiled when Louis walked in.

For Ann Marie being such a wicked witch, Simon Cowell didn’t seem that bad. One would think that Louis would have a much closer working relationship with the PM, he’d been with him for years now, but truthfully he hardly ever saw him if they were in the office. Still, he didn’t doubt for a second that Cowell was aware of absolutely everything he did.

The PM gestured that Louis should sit in one of the seats in front his desk and Louis did so cautiously. Ann Marie moved to stand next to the desk.

“So you’ve found our missing security man then?” Cowell asked.

“He entered Argentina on Tuesday morning under an assumed name,” Louis said. “It appears that he’s currently being detained by the police in connection with an open investigation.”

Louis saw Ann Marie and Cowell briefly share a look.

“And what is he being held for?” Cowell asked calmly.

“I’m not sure,” Louis said. “The case hasn’t been made public.”

“If the information isn’t public, then how, may I ask, did you come across this information?” Ann Marie asked.

“I’m not sure it matters how I came across it,” Louis said, sitting up straighter. “You asked me to find Lucas Boring and I did. Considering I had such a hard time locating him I don’t think you have to worry about any potential media backlash from his association with your leadership.”

Ann Marie and Cowell shared another look before the PM waved his hand as if to say ‘go on’.

She cleared her throat before saying. “We need you to hire a new driver for Mr. Cowell.”

“What happened to Henry?” Louis asked. Henry had only been working here for a few months. Cowell went through drivers and security staff often, rotating them in and out of positions before they were all eventually no longer employed by the British government. Some people of his status liked to have a staff they trusted by his side. Louis thought that Cowell trusted no one but Ann Marie. And Ann Marie didn’t trust anyone.

“He will no longer be a part of the staff here.” Ann Marie walked towards the door and Louis understood that the conversation was over. “The usual agency is fine for a replacement.”

“I have time Monday to do interviews if you’d like.”

“There’s no need. Mr. Cowell and I will see to the interview process this time.” She opened the door wide and Louis realized there was no room for him to argue or question.

He nodded and walked out the door. There were no pleasantries in this office.

\---

Harry was only a little bit afraid of Zayn. He could definitely take him in hand to hand combat, but Zayn could create an explosive with a fifty foot range out of a lipstick container, so he wasn’t to be messed with.

But it was his mission now to date Louis. Or at least try to date him and even if Zayn didn’t know it yet, he had to accept it. Liam said so. Granted, he was half deliberating what the chances of convincing Liam to tell Zayn himself were, but they didn’t look too good.

Harry was laying on the couch in the lounge of HQ, killing time by refreshing Louis iCal that he had pulled up on a tablet every two minutes despite there not being any updates all day. Louis should be in the office until he decided to go home.

A phone call started to come through. It shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise, but Harry was a little giddy to hear Louis’ voice again and had to fumble with the headphones to get them on his head before whomever Louis was calling answered.

“Hello.” Harry heard a gruff voice answer.

“This is Louis Tomlinson, I need to speak with Mr. Sharp.”

Harry scrambled for a piece of paper on the table next to him. He wrote the name “Mr. Sharp” down in crooked handwriting. He wrote the phone number Louis had called down next to it.

“Hold on,” said the man again. There was a short pause before there was a click and then dead air.

This might be it, Harry thought. The first thing that had happened in the last week that seemed even remotely out of the ordinary. 

“Mr. Tomlinson, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Said a new man from the other side of the line. His accent was northern.

“We are in need of someone new,” Louis began. “You know the specifications.”

“Of course,” the man said. “When did you want to meet them?”

“Prime Minister Cowell has personally requested to meet with whomever you recommend.” Louis paused. “Don’t fuck it up, Frank.”

The line disconnected. Harry pushed off the headphones and let out a breath. He had no idea what any of it meant, but it was the first thing he's heard that might lead to something. And it didn’t sound great for Louis. Maybe this wasn't a pointless mission after all. At least he had a name to go by now, Frank Sharp. He’d have to run it through the database and hopefully get a hit. But it was something. 

\---  
Every time they went out for drinks after work they went to a pub that was a fifteen minute walk from HQ and they all had to stagger their times leaving the office. These were Liam’s specific rules and if they refused Liam probably wouldn’t show up. He was ridiculous, but they did it anyway because it made Liam happy. Something about nepotism or whatever. Harry couldn’t be bothered to care. As far as he was concerned, their group was the best MI6 had to offer anyway. It wasn’t because they were friends that Liam gave him the best missions. It was because he got them done.

Harry was the first to arrive even though Niall left first. He grabbed a booth against the far wall and waited for the others to show up. It wouldn’t be too long, but well, Liam was always a bit uptight about it. Honestly, if you asked Harry, if he wanted to be more secretive about them all hanging out, he’d pick a place that wasn’t a 15 minute walk from HQ. But as Liam often pointed out, no, he did not ask Harry.

Harry smirked slightly when he saw Niall and Zayn walk in. Those two were so oblivious to the fact that they were so bloody gone for each other, it wasn’t even funny anymore. “Hey, mate,” Zayn said as he slid in across from him. 

Niall, instead, looked at the bar first. “I’ll go grab us a few pints, yeah? Liam is still going to be a few.” They nodded and he took off to the bar.

“You know, for a bunch of spies, we aren’t that inconspicuous,” Zayn said casually. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I saw that one guy, with the nose, from the 12th floor when I walked in.”

“That’s what I’m always saying!” Harry said. “Our fearless leader needs to brush up on his spy skills.”

“Maybe read the handbook,” Zayn smirked.

Harry grinned. He often forgot that Zayn was actually hilarious. Maybe it was because he was often content to just brood around, judging everyone. But whatever. “Anyways,” he said casually. “Is Louis coming?”

Zayn looked at him with narrowed eyes for a moment. “Why?” He asked slowly.

Harry was saved from answering when Niall returned, three pints in hands. He, however, did not miss Zayn narrowing his eyes even further at the blush that crept up on his face. Harry tried to conceal a smirk and out of the corner of his eye noticed the door to the pub open and Liam walk in.

Harry got up and let Liam slide into the booth, which awarded him a raised eyebrow from Liam, a snort from Niall, and a slightly panicked look from Zayn. 

“You didn’t get one for me?” Liam asked, slightly offended. Niall shrugged, but didn’t move. They couldn’t help but laugh at Liam’s affronted look, until even Liam cracked a smile. Good, office Liam was exiting the building and friend Liam had arrived.

“Hey lads.” Harry looked up to the figure standing next to him. Louis. 

“Louis, mate!” Niall said scooting over. Well, that wasn’t what Harry had in mind, but he could work with it. At least he’d get to stare at him all night. 

“What are you doing here?” Zayn said. Harry could hear he sounded both annoyed and wary. 

“Harry invited me at lunch today, remember?” he said, squeezing in next to Niall. Zayn muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like that fucking lunch date. He thought he saw Niall jab his elbow into Zayn’s ribs and Harry resisted the urge to reach for a high five. 

“So,” Louis said. “Is anyone going to introduce us?”

“Oh right,” Harry said quickly. “This is Liam. He works with me. Liam, this is Louis.”

“Nice to meet you,” Louis smiled at him. “Is what you do classified as well, or is that just Harry?”

For what it was worth, Liam remained calm and simply said, “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“And this is Niall,” Harry continued.

Louis just stared at him for a second. 

Niall grinned madly and turned to Louis dramatically, draping an arm around his shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Louis.”

Louis laughed. “You too, Niall.”

Harry looked at them in confusion. Something wasn’t right about that. Wait. “You guys know each other?” He asked. No one ever told him anything. Honestly, he was going to have to have a talk with Niall about secrets. Maybe read him one of Liam’s teamwork speeches. Niall knew Louis and didn’t even tell him, he just laughed at him, that bastard.

Niall rolled his eyes, and Louis smirked. “You know Zayn and I have been friends for a long time, right?”

“Yeah,” Harry said, still confused.

“So, obviously, I know Niall,” he shrugged. Then he looked around the table, eyeing the three pints, and Liam’s lack of one. “I’m gonna go grab one. Can I get you one too?”

Liam grinned, but it made the other three laugh again. “Sure, thanks, mate.”

Zayn waited until Louis was out of earshot to turn on Harry, glaring. “Seriously?”

“What?” Harry kept a neutral expression on. 

“You’re up to something,” Zayn said.

“No, I’m not,” he replied quickly.

“I’m going to find out,” Zayn crossed his arms and sat back in the booth. “Your face is doing too much of that,” he said waving his hand around the dimples, “for you not to be up to no good.”

“Good luck,” Harry shrugged, taking a sip of his beer. Zayn just continued to glare at him.

“Just tell him, Harry,” Liam said suddenly, from next to him. All three of them turned to look at him in confusion. Well, Harry’s expression was more of a what the fuck. Honestly, now Liam was throwing him under the bus. Did he not know about Zayn’s ability to make an explosive from just about anything? Was he really the only one who had listened to the teamwork speeches?

“Tell me what?” Zayn prompted, kicking Harry under the table as he continued to gape at Liam.

“If we talk about this, I’m not sure I can believe Zayn would still catch me in a trust fall, so it’s not really in the interest of the team, Liam.”

“Well now you have to tell us,” Niall said excitedly, leaning forward.

“Harry likes him,” Liam said finally.

“What?” Harry, Niall and Zayn all asked.

“Yeah,” Liam said, grinning before looking past them. “Hey thanks, mate.”

Louis had returned, thankfully, saving him from Zayn’s explosives. Zayn couldn’t kill him while Louis was there, right? Maybe. Probably? Okay, there was still a possibility he was currently drinking his last.

Louis gave them all a funny look as he sat down, “So what are we talking about? Who does Harry like?”

Theoretically Harry knew he could say anyone. He could say they meant he liked a football player or the lead singer of a new band. Any of them could have said anything, but they paused for maybe a beat too long and then Liam, poor Liam, blurted out the most potentially awkward and useless thing he’d ever probably said in his entire life.

“Simon Cowell.” The words came out in a rush, running together almost sounding like he'd said psycho. Which, potentially fitting, but, oh God, Liam why.

Harry forced himself to laugh and even he knew it sounded half strangled. He kicked Liam under the table and prayed someone would say something, anything. 

“The Prime Minister? I guess he’s okay looking for someone with pec implants.” Harry hadn’t thought the person to save him would be Louis, but there he was making a joke about his boss’s pec implants because none of them besides Zayn were supposed to know it was his boss.

So if Louis was willing to talk about him like it was nothing, Harry has actually learned something about him. He was an excellent liar. And he was quicker on his feet than he had realized. He wasn’t sure he should waste an opportunity to get Louis’ opinion on Cowell, but Zayn was sending him warning glares across the table.

“I mean, he’s got nothing on Niall though,” Harry said, batting his eyes in Niall’s direction.

“No one does,” Louis said, pinching Niall’s cheeks. Niall squeaked and batted his hand away. 

“I’ll have you know,” Niall said dramatically. “This is all natural. I’m basically God’s gift to humanity and all that.”

“God’s gift to humanity leaves quite a bit wanting, doesn’t it?” Liam said, casually. “Half the time I can’t even get you to do anything.”

“Please, Liam, your life would be in shambles without me,” Niall snorted. “Walsh would be in your office 24/7 if I didn’t keep him out.”

Harry kicked him under the table, though it was too late. Louis looked around them. “Do you all work together?”

“Oh er -- yeah,” Liam said quickly.

“Niall, I’m not sure how you got that job though, mate. I’ve seen you with the DVR. No way you’re helping anyone,” Louis said.

Harry and Niall snorted, though Liam was confused. Zayn was staring pointedly at an invisible spot on the wall, his jaw clenched. Harry wasn’t sure if that was because of the fact that Louis thought Q of all people worked customer service as a mere IT person, or because of what Liam had blurted about Harry liking Louis. He was 80% sure it was the latter.

“IT jokes because we work in IT,” Harry said slowly, to inconspicuously fill Liam in. “Funny.”

It took Liam a moment to catch on, but when he did, he looked at Zayn and started laughing, hard. That’s what Harry was saying! Zayn, customer service extraordinaire. Hilarious. Zayn glared at Liam.

“Helping old ladies with their phone, Q?” Liam smirked.

Oh God. Harry kicked Liam under the table again, harder this time. Honestly, Liam was the boss of the top secret spy agency in the country and he yet he couldn’t seem to keep it together for five fucking seconds. 

“Did you just call Zayn Q?” Louis looked confused. They all tensed.

“It’s his nickname,” Niall blurted fast. “His, er, Dungeons and Dragons name?”

“Right,” Liam, again, to the rescue. “We like to tease him about it.”

“I didn’t know you played Dungeons and Dragons, Z,” Louis looked like Christmas had come early. He sat up straighter. “Has this been going on long? Because I am highly offended you robbed me of all this good mocking material.”

“No,” Zayn said, sounding slightly pained. Harry did feel for him, honestly. He knew Zayn wasn’t so comfortable with lying to Louis. “It’s a new thing.”

“What does Q stand for?” Louis asked.

They again, paused for a beat too long. Louis was way too inquisitive. “QuantumAsshole,” Harry said finally. Zayn kicked him under the table, glaring at him.

Louis laughed. “That’s horrible, mate. And you chose that for yourself? Incredible. Hey, can I call you, Q?”

“No,” Zayn said, a little too quickly. Harry thought he saw hurt flash behind Louis’ eyes, but it was gone so fast, he wasn’t sure. But apparently Zayn was, because he sighed. “Sorry, it’s just, they weren’t supposed to find out. I’d rather you didn’t call me that.”

“No worries, mate,” Louis waved it off, before finishing off his drink. “I still have plenty of blackmail material ready for that without calling you Q. Anyways, another round boys?”

“I’ll get it,” Harry said, standing from the booth. “For everyone, yeah?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t,” Liam said, always so sensible.

“It’s Friday, M, live a little. You’re having another,” Niall rolled his eyes. But then he realized what he said and his eyes widened. Fuck. They were all so screwed tonight.

“M?” Louis asked. “That another Dungeon and Dragons name?”

“Yeah, um, it stands for Magicdick,” Niall said quickly. And there was Niall, going in for the save. Not. Bloody hell, Harry needed another drink. He walked to the bar before anyone else wanted to reveal another secret about their secret spy association. Honestly, why did they even have a handbook?

He asked the bartender for another round and was leaning on the bar when he felt someone settle in next to him.

“I thought you might need a little help carrying them back,” Louis said. He was smiling softly at Harry. “And I was hoping I’d get to learn your D&D nickname as well. I’m imagining something like Flowerscrotum or Captaintitties.”

Harry started laughing. “You’ll just have to wait to see if anyone slips.”

Louis let out a small huff. The bartender came back and placed the five pints on the bar. Harry handed him a couple notes. Instead of picking them up, he turned to Louis.

“I’m really glad you came tonight.”

“Yeah me too, I had a fun time at lunch as well.”

“I was thinking, we should try and catch dinner sometime. Just us.”

“Like a date?” Louis asked.

“Definitely like a date,” Harry said. He could feel his heartbeat speed up and he told himself he was only nervous because if Louis said no it would make it a lot harder to get close enough to actually learn anything relevant. That was totally the reason.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” Louis said. He smiled before picking up two of the glasses. “Shall we get back because Zayn is creepily staring at us and I want to go make fun of him for it?”

He started walking back to the table and Harry took a moment to watch him before picking up the three remaining pints and following him. He just looked really, really, good in those jeans.


	4. Chapter Four

Louis had found himself with a surprising amount of free time on the weekend. Even on Friday he had been able to leave early enough to go to the pub with Zayn and his friends. And Harry.

Harry who asked him out. Harry who he had texted Saturday morning when he was a little hungover and who he had continued to text throughout the weekend. Because he had so much free time, which was unusual. And it might have bothered him more if he wasn’t so entranced. By Harry.

When he got to the office on Monday neither Simon nor Ann Marie were present. He triple checked his iCal, but there was nothing scheduled. What kind of diary secretary was he if he had no fucking clue where his boss was. So he did what any smart man hoping to keep his job would do. He faked it. He lied to the people who came by looking for the pair and said they were in a meeting. He had a call back list longer than his arm because he had no answers. 

The only concrete item on the schedule for the morning was the 10:30 interviews for the driver position. Mr. Sharp usually sent four or five candidates and usually Louis went through the first sets of interviews before sending his top two on to Ann Marie for final vetting. He was feeling rather useless that he wouldn’t be needed this time, and also, if he was being a little honest, a little concerned about his position. First they took away a major function of his job and then they literally didn't keep him updated on what is happening, and where the hell his client even was, his client whose life he scheduled. 

It made him itchy.

And then at 10:15 on the dot they stepped through the doors to where Louis’ desk was. He wasn’t even sure if they had come from within the building or if they had just arrived. It probably wasn’t his place to ask either.

“When the applicants arrive please send them in one at a time.” Ann Marie said curtly.

“Is there anything else you would like me to handle in regards to their interview process?” Louis asked, a little hopeful.

“No,” she said and the pair walked into Cowell’s office and closed the door. Louis exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Well alright then. 

\---

Liam was staring at him expectantly. Harry had barged into the office just moments before and had blurted out an “I did something you might be mad about” and then proceeded to clam up. Because really, where was he even to begin with this.

“Styles, if you don’t elaborate I’m going to assume you’ve shot someone,” Liam said. “Unless… Oh crap. Of course you did. Oh bugger, this is going to be so much paperwork. Do you at least have the name of the newly deceased?”

“No one has died.”

“So you shot them in the leg?”

“I haven’t shot anyone, M,” Harry said. “I just made some progress on Louis is all.”

“That’s not all, is it?” Liam rolled his eyes. “Because unless you shot someone you're not telling me about to make that progress, I doubt I'm going to have a problem.”

“I didn't shoot anyone! Listen, on Friday he made a call, it was out of the ordinary so I did a bit of following up over the weekend. I’ve also began a texting relationship and we have a date on Wednesday.” Harry said it all very nonchalantly and hoped Liam would not ask too many questions.

“And who was the call to?” Liam asked, pressing the bridge of his nose with his fingers, clearly not wanting to deal with the rest of what Harry said. After all, Liam had sanctioned him to move forward with Louis.

“He addressed the person on the phone as a Mr. Frank Sharp. He was requesting a new person for something he didn’t say.”

“Have you found this Mr. Sharp?” Liam asked leaning back in his chair.

“Obviously,” Harry said, rolling his eyes at Liam’s clear lack of confidence in Harry’s abilities. “That’s not his real name of course. Francisco Southall. He’s an uncle or something in a crime family out of the Black Country. So basically like the mob. From what I could gather from our Intel, apparently our friend Francisco is running a bit of a hitman for hire operation. It's actually the operation in a few of our other cases, cases our team didn't bother sharing, just saying.”

“Louis was calling the mob.” Liam seemed taken aback, ignoring the jab at his ‘teamwork’ speeches.

“And he told them that Simon would be meeting with their candidate personally.”

“Why is the Prime Minister hiring personnel from the mob?” Liam said, leaning forward with his elbows on his desk. 

“I don't know,” Harry admitted. “Maybe they funded his campaign somehow? Maybe he's going to pass some leniency laws for them?”

“I might have the answer to that actually,” said a new voice from the doorway. Both Liam and Harry looked to see Niall standing there. “We should get Zayn up here as well.”

“Why does Zayn need to know?” Harry questioned. To be honest, he had been planning on keeping Zayn in the dark about this until they had definite proof. And even then, he was definitely going to leave it to Liam to tell Q about their findings, because he valued his life and well, Zayn had quite a few ways to end it, very creatively.

“Because I'm not lying to him,” Niall said. “Not about this.”

Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly. Niall could figure out another way to get into Zayn’s pants when they both finally pulled their heads out of their arses and went for it. But Niall wasn't hearing any of it and refused to speak until they called Zayn up. 

Once Zayn had made it up from the subbasement, everyone looked a mix of stressed and intrigued as they settled around the room. Niall remained standing in the center of the room.

“So what’s up?” Zayn asked. “I'm a little busy with a new laser prototype, so can we make this quick?”

“Two questions,” Harry said, distracted. “What kind of laser prototype and can I come play?”

“Yeah, you can come test it out later?” Zayn nodded. “It's basically a laser in a watch. Can get through airport security though.”

“Nice,” Harry fistbumped him.

“Moving on,” Liam cleared his throat, rolling his eyes. “Niall?”

“There’s been a development,” Niall said timidly, which was odd enough. “On Friday afternoon Louis made a phone call.”

Harry started to nod, ready to explain what he had heard on the phone.

“He did so from an untraceable cell phone, which is no longer in service.” Harry stopped nodding and snapped his attention to Niall.

“What are you talking about?” Zayn asked. “You sound like M, Niall. Cut the shit.”

“In this phone call, he requested information about a man named Lucas Boring, who had been missing since the previous Monday,” Niall continued as if Zayn hadn’t spoken. It wasn’t often that Niall didn’t baby Zayn. Harry knew whatever Niall had to say was going to be serious.

“From this phone call we were able to determine without a doubt that the bomber in Jakarta and Buenos Aires, and the man that Harry apprehended in Argentina was Lucas Boring, formerly of Blackpool, and most recently employed by Sharp Industries, LLC, on loan to 10 Downing Street. We, of course, did not relay all of that to Louis. We just told him Boring had been detained in Argentina for unknown reasons.”

“Harry also heard Louis make a call Friday afternoon,” Liam interrupted. Mostly for Zayn’s benefit, since Niall was already aware.

“He spoke with Mr. Sharp on the phone,” Harry said, feeling a bit more confident in the situation. “Q, he was looking for someone new for hire, someone Cowell was going to interview personally.”

“You’re trying to tell me that my best friend is hiring terrorists for the Prime Minister?” Zayn said incredulously. “No. No fucking way. Louis isn’t like that, you guys know that. You met him. He's not like that. The guy was making fun of Simon’s pec implants, for fuck’s sake. He would not stand for that shit, let alone be a part of it in any way.”

“Q, sometimes it’s hard to see it in the people we love the most.” Liam spoke softly to Zayn.

“Niall,” Harry said, realizing something. “If Louis was calling from an untraceable phone, how did you know who he called?”

“I’ll tell you but you have to promise not to get mad.” Niall looked at the three of them, his eyes settling on Zayn. Liam and Harry nodded slightly. Zayn was seething. “I know who Louis called because he called me.”

“What the fuck,” Harry muttered. He heard Liam let out an oh God. 

“There’s a phone I received when I took this position. I was told it would not ring often, but when it did I was to do what was asked of me. The number wouldn’t be written down or stored anywhere and I wasn’t to mention it to anyone. It might be the same person who calls each time or it might be someone different. Since Cowell has been in office the person who calls is Louis.” Niall said, looking down at his hands. “It’s only happened a few times and I honestly didn’t know that it was your Louis for the longest time and when I realized it - it’s not like I could say anything.” 

“So you’ve just been lying to our faces, to my face,” Zayn said. His tone was quiet, his eyes burning into Niall.

“Liam knew, about the phone that is.” Niall said, flinching, perhaps realizing that this wasn't going to help his case much. Liam glared at him for throwing his name under the bus too. “It was part of the reason we were investigating the PM.”

“Unbelievable,” Zayn said, standing up. He moved to the door before saying, “Not only have you been lying to me, but you really think Louis is involved with fucking terrorism, I can’t believe it.” 

He slammed the door when he left.

“Shit,” Niall said.

“We have to entertain the possibility though, he’s been calling the mob hitman hotline and hiring terrorists for who knows how long.” Harry said. “And he’s hiring a new one today.”

“More importantly,” Liam began, “We’ve just realized that our Prime Minister has been involved in at least three terrorist attacks on major world cities.”

Which also meant that Louis was potentially a terrorist. Fuck. It explained why he was the one who was calling the mob. This entire thing just got a lot worse. Corruption was one thing. Hell, every country in the world was full of corrupt politicians. But a terrorist PM in one of the most powerful countries in the world? That was a whole other ballpark. The havoc he could wreak. Fuck, the havoc Louis might be helping him wreak. 

“Unless,” Harry paused. “Unless we’ve been assuming something wrong since the beginning. You’ve just said Louis is part of the reason you’re looking into Cowell at all. But what if it doesn’t go beyond him? Everything we’ve got traces directly back to Louis.”

Liam met Harry’s eyes, and Harry knew what he was thinking. He was definitely going to have to get to Louis with whatever means necessary, and soon. 

“Zayn seemed really mad, didn’t he?” Niall asked, ignoring both of their statements, still focused on the closed door.

Harry and Liam both sighed heavily. 

“Get a grip, Ni.”

\---

Harry was nervous. Which was odd, because he did not get nervous, not for things like this. Not for dates, no matter how attractive the person was or how blue his eyes were. He was supposed to be the best spy in the best spy agency in the UK, and here he was, nervous to continue his mission. To be fair though, the day had definitely earned him a right to be nervous.

Because there was no denying it now. Simon Cowell, Prime Minister of the UK, was up to something, something definitely not good, and something that involved setting off bombs in several different countries. Was he after a war? Fashioned himself the next Churchill? But even that didn’t make sense. Because he had bombed Jakarta, Argentina, and Moscow. Obviously, Putin would respond in kind if he found out England was behind the attack on the Russian White House, but Buenos Aires and Jakarta? That seemed like a dumb move. If he was trying to start a war, wouldn’t he hit America? It just didn’t make sense. Something wasn’t adding up with the whole thing.

And then, of course, there was Louis, the main reason for his nervousness at the moment, if he allowed himself to admit it. Which he definitely wouldn’t. Louis was somehow connected to all of this. After all, he was the man’s PA, and it seemed unlikely the person who had to know all the odds and ends of Cowell’s life didn’t know what he was up to. Louis had hired a hitman from the mob, and Louis had called Niall, albeit without knowing it was Niall, to find the bomber from Jakarta and Argentina. Those didn’t sound like the actions of a man who didn’t know what was what. Those were, however, the actions of the man that Harry was about to pick up. For their date. For his date with a potential terrorist.

He shook his head. He couldn’t afford to be distracted right now. He turned off his engine and got out of the car, walking to Louis’ door. He had to somehow be both obliviously curious about Louis’ life while pretending he didn’t know what Louis did for a living, and also charming as fuck because otherwise he probably wouldn’t be able to get him say a goddamn word. That, he could do. After all, Harry was good at that part, making people like him. Being a spy wasn’t always about hiding in the shadows, a lot of the time it was about getting yourself out of situations without anyone else realizing there was a situation to get out of.

He rang the buzzer for Tomlinson in 3b, and stepped back, waiting for Louis. Charming, he reminded himself, charming and oblivious.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Louis smiled at him. And fuck. Okay, so maybe Harry was nervous for a whole other reason too, though he refused to admit it. Because Louis looked good. His black skinny jeans and maroon shirt clung to him in all the right places. Fuck, why did he have to be a potential baddy that Harry would have to take down and not in a fun way? He eyed Harry slowly, obviously checking him out. “I suppose you’ll do,” he said with a smirk.

Harry smiled at him widely. “You look fantastic,” he said.

Louis blushed and bit his lip. Fuck, Harry really wanted to bite that lip. Wait, no. He shouldn’t be having those thoughts. They were about 80% sure the man across from him was in cahoots with a terrorist, if not a terrorist himself. He should definitely not be picturing him out of those clothes. “Thanks,” Louis said, breaking him from his thoughts. “I wasn’t sure where we were going for dinner. Is this okay? Because I can change really quickly if not.”

“No, it’s perfect. You’re perfect,” Harry said quickly.

“Thanks,” Louis said again. “So where are we going anyway?” he asked as he followed Harry to his car. He whistled when he saw it. “IT pays really well, doesn’t it?”

Harry laughed. The IT thing never failed to amuse him to no end. “Just a bit.”

They settled into the car, and Harry took off in the direction of the restaurant. The restaurant he had picked was a favorite of his, though it was closer to his flat and quite far from the Docklands where Louis was. He wondered if he should use the drive to try to drill him now, but decided against it. He had to reel him in with charm first. “I hope you like Italian food?” He said.

“Is that even a serious question?” Louis scoffed. “Who doesn’t like Italian food is the question. Because that person needs to be ridiculed and mocked for eternity.”

“Thank God you said that because otherwise I would have had to turn the car around,” Harry joked. They made comfortable conversation for the rest of the drive. Harry pulled into a spot one street over from the restaurant and got out quickly, rushing around to help Louis out. He pouted when he saw Louis already closing the car door behind him, which only made Louis laugh.

“Want me to get back in?” He asked Harry. “Let you woo me all proper?”

“No,” Harry continued to pout.

Louis smirked. “I’ll let you open the door to the restaurant for me, yeah? If you’re lucky, maybe I’ll let you even pull my chair out.”

Harry rolled his eyes, though he laughed. “So chivalrous of you. Besides, trust me, my wooing hasn't even started. Be prepared to be blown away.”

They walked into the restaurant and the maitre d’ ushered them forward to their seats as he always did when Harry came here. Harry may or may not have saved the man’s life, after a drug deal gone bad, but since MI6 wasn’t technically sanctioned for that op, Harry wasn’t technically there to drop the man before he could get shot, and technically the man didn’t know Harry now. But still, Harry nodded at him when he gave them the best seat in the house.

“Fancy cars, VIP service at restaurants,” Louis commented after the waiter left with their drink orders. “I’m starting to think you don’t actually work for IT.”

Harry laughed. “I don’t. Zayn and I aren’t really in the same department.” That was definitely true. He didn't understand half the shit Q got up to in his underground lair.

“So what department are you in, then?” Louis raised an eyebrow. “Something with a huge office probably? Sick view, lots of people at your beck and call?”

“There’s not much of a view,” Harry answered vaguely. He wasn’t technically lying really. All he could see from his window was another building, the downside of having HQ in the city. Though, the other side of the building opened up to a nice view of Thames. He was just the unlucky sod whose office wasn't on that side. “And I definitely don’t have people at my beck and call.”

“Then?”

“Nothing really too interesting,” Harry shrugged. The waiter returned and poured their wine. He waited until the waiter left to ask, “What do you do?” 

“A little of this, a little of that,” Louis said. “Nothing really too interesting either.”

“Then maybe we’re perfect for each other,” Harry said, a small smile playing on his lips. “Maybe we can make each other’s lives more interesting.”

Louis blushed a bit and smiled at him. “Yeah, maybe.”

Harry picked up his menu, looking it over despite the fact that he knew what he wanted. It was always the same thing. “What were you thinking of getting? Everything here is delicious.”

Louis looked over his own menu. “Bring dates here often, do you?” He was joking clearly, Harry could tell from his tone, but Harry also had the feeling that this was a test. 

“Never actually,” he said. “I bring the lads sometimes. But I like this place too much to risk a date gone sour ruining it for me.”

“You don’t think this date will go sour, then?” Louis looked up at him from his menu, a small smirk on his lips.

Harry bit his bottom lip, leaning forward to graze his knee against Louis’ softly. “I’m really hoping not.”

“Good, because I’m having high hopes for you too at the moment, Harold,” Louis said. 

“I’ll try to keep up to par then.”

“Do.”

They grinned at each other before the waiter came back to ask if they were ready to order. They ordered quickly, Louis changing his mind twice in the middle of ordering. Harry was finding himself hopelessly endeared by the man across from him. Fuck. That was not good. He wasn’t here to actually date Louis. He needed to find out if he was a terrorist, especially since every current piece of evidence was pointing at yes. He needed to get back on track. This wasn’t a date. This was an investigation, granted it was in the form of a date, but it wasn’t actually a date! 

“So,” Harry said when the waiter left again.

“So,” Louis repeated, grinning as he leaned forward on his elbows.

“Tell me about yourself?”

“What would you like to know?” Louis asked.

“How’d you meet Zayn?” Yes, he’s start with the easy ones, the ones he knew the answers to already, even if Louis didn’t know he knew. 

“We were assigned flatmates at uni,” Louis said.

“And what? It was best friends at first sight?”

Louis snorted. “Hardly. I’m sure you know how hard it is to get close to Zayn. He’s very -- self-protected. He builds walls around himself so high it would take a force of nature to knock them down.” Harry nodded along, remembering how hard it had taken him to become friends with Q as well. “But I am a persistent little shit, and I would not rest until I was a hell of a force of nature. Think hurricane proportions.”

Harry laughed. “I’d like to have seen that.”

“It was quite a show,” Louis agreed. “What about you? How’d you dig your way in through his walls?”

“I didn’t,” Harry admitted. “At least, not for ages. And even then, I doubt I would have gotten far without Niall. He eventually told Zayn that I was his friend and that was that. Zayn listened for whatever reason, and here we are today.”

Louis laughed. “That sounds exactly like them.”

“So, tell me about your family,” Harry said, moving on. “Any siblings?”

“Not much out of the ordinary there either,” Louis shrugged, though his eyes brightened immensely. “I have five younger sisters and one brother. And yes, they are all incredibly cute and amazing. Though, they’re related to me, so it’s not really much of a surprise. What about you?”

Harry smiled, hearing how clear it was that Louis loved them all. “I have an older sister,” he said. “We’re not very close.” Okay, so that was a lie. But Harry was very secretive and protective of his family. He didn’t want anyone to be able to use them against him. If an enemy looked into him, they’d find no trace or connection to his mum and stepdad or his sister, Gemma. He was very creative with keeping up with them.

“So you’re the baby then,” Louis grinned. “I can totally tell, by the way.”

“Heyyyy,” Harry drawled.

“I meant that as a compliment, Harold, relax,” Louis insisted. “It means you’re very cute.”

Harry blushed bright red. “Excuse me, I am rugged and handsome.”

“Sure, rugged and handsome,” Louis nodded. “And very cute.”

Harry grinned at him and opened his mouth to ask him something else when the waiter came back with their food. It looked amazing of course. Harry had gotten the stuffed chicken marsala and Louis had decided on the shrimp scampi. They dug in wholeheartedly while Harry wondered which direction he should take this. He knew he couldn’t and shouldn’t really ask him about Simon Cowell just yet because one, it was bad form to talk politics on the first date, and two, he wasn’t technically supposed to know Louis worked for the man and so couldn’t assume he’d know anything about him. He decided to go another way.

“Okay so, if I guess correctly, will you tell me then?” Harry said suddenly.

“Tell you what?” Louis asked after he swallowed a particularly large bite of shrimp.

“Your classified job,” Harry said. “It’s a mystery, innit? And I do love a good mystery.”

He hoped he wasn’t rushing, though he also knew they needed the answers soon, especially after what they found out today. He knew he was kind of heading into dangerous territory because Louis could easily get suspicious of him if he didn’t play this right.

But luckily, Louis laughed. “Sure, though I have to say, you are probably going to get it wrong.”

“I will have you know,” Harry pretended to look affronted. “That I am an excellent guesser.”

“Okay, guess away,” Louis grinned.

“Okay, let’s see.”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Louis said. “Just to set the parameters, you only get three guesses.”

“Deal,” Harry nodded. “Okay, first I’m going to go with spy.”

Louis laughed. “A spy, really? Like Mission Impossible, yeah? That was a horrible guess. I will have you know that besides football, all other forms of exercise are beyond me. Which means unfortunately, I am not going to be jumping off of buildings or running after suspects.”

“To be fair, you also just described Spider-man, so,” Harry said. “Okay, so not a spy. And I guess that means I can scratch superhero as well. What about the circus?”

Louis snorted. “I said classified and you got circus?”

Harry grinned. “I’m just saying, if I worked for the circus, I would definitely not be telling people either.”

“Why, Harold, that is quite rude of you,” Louis said. “Circus folk are people too, but alas, I am not one of those folk. Last guess, try and make it count.”

“Damn it,” Harry said. “I think you should give me one more.”

“I think that’s cheating.”

“Please?” Harry pouted. He reached out and touched Louis’ hand softly for a moment, his fingers just gently grazing his. He looked up at him through his eyelashes, biting his lower lip briefly. “Pretty please?”

Louis rolled his eyes, though a smile played at his lips. “Okay fine, two more guesses, and try to make them at least a little serious.”

“Thanks,” Harry beamed at him, flashing his dimples on full display. “And also, I’ll have you know that those guesses were definitely serious.”

“Right, right, go on then, have your next guess.”

“Okay, what about law?” Harry asked.

“Nope. Last chance.”

“Something in the government?” Harry watched his face closely.

Louis grinned. “Close, very close. But if you’re going to ask me if I’m secretly the Prime Minister, I am going to have to say no, that position is filled.”

“That was definitely going to be my next guess,” Harry smirked, though he had to actively try to let it reach his eyes. Either Louis Tomlinson was a better liar than he was, or he was completely oblivious. Unfortunately, they couldn’t rule out the former.

“Too bad you were out of guesses then,” Louis laughed.

“I think I should get more guesses on our next date,” Harry insisted.

“Oi, and what makes you think there will be a second date?” He smirked.

“I’m hoping there will be,” Harry said, biting his lip. “After I finish wooing you on this one, of course.”

“Well, of course,” Louis grinned, though a small blush had crept into his cheeks.

If Harry was not in the business of lying, even to himself, he would have been able to admit how true that statement was. He really hoped Louis had nothing to do with what they were suspecting, despite how bad it looked like he did. He really hoped that they did get on well, and that Louis would actually like him. But of course, Harry was a liar by trade, as all good spies were. And so, he was definitely not going to admit the truth in that statement, not to Liam, or Zayn, or Niall, and definitely not to himself.

\---

Louis had gone to bed the night before on a high from his date. He had almost expected a sort of hangover in the morning where not everything was as wonderful as he had remembered it, but he woke in the morning with an image of Harry’s dimples permanently inked to his eyelids. And, well, it was a good date.

He was on a bit of cloud nine at work. He had to prepare some of the paperwork for the new driver Cowell had hired that was meant to start on Monday and instead he thought about the coffee and scone he shared with Harry at the Costa near his train station that morning. He was on sensory overload and found himself caring less about how Cowell and Ann Marie kept shutting him out.

He was able to leave at a decent time that night, which was a nice surprise. When he walked out of the brick building, with the black steel door closing heavily behind him, he saw a familiar figure leaning against the fencing across from him. 

“Z, how the hell did you get in here?” Louis saw Zayn take a slow drag from a cigarette and give the smallest shrug.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see him, it was just, there were security gates at both ends of the street armed by police officers. They didn’t let anyone in without a pass. 

Louis walked off the stoop and approached his best friend. “No, but seriously, what the fuck?”

Zayn exhaled and mumbled something he couldn’t hear, before saying more clearly, “Can we just go back to yours, please? I’m exhausted.”

And Louis was ready to tease him about a tablet smashed to bits by a toddler or a man in his seventies who kept typing google into the google search bar, but Zayn did look tired. His eyes were drooping and his shoulders hunched forward. So, just this once, he decided to let it go. Besides, he'd just save that material for later.

He looped his arm through Zayn’s and they walked out through the gates, to the tube stop, and sat through the further twenty minutes on the DLR without saying much at all.

When they were settled on his couch, each with a mug of tea and Zayn had, blissfully, stopped chain smoking, Louis finally asked what was wrong.

“I don’t want to talk about me yet,” Zayn said. “Tell me about why you cancelled on quiz night?”

“I had a date with Harry,” Louis said, smiling into his tea.

“I thought you were going to be just friends.” He thought Zayn might’ve sounded angry. Hurt, even.

“No, Zayn, we were definitely never going to be just friends,” Louis paused. “Have you seen him? My God. You set me up with people all the time and the only decent one, the best one, is the one you don’t want me to date? Come on.”

“I just,” Zayn started. “It’s just - we’re coworkers. Won’t that be weird?”

“I don’t work with him, unless Cowell’s got him hiding in the attic somewhere.” Louis gave Zayn a look and continued, “Besides, when has interdepartmental relationships ever stopped you?”

“And that’s working out so great right now.” Zayn flopped his head back on the couch and closed his eyes.

“Wait, what happened? You and Niall are fighting?” That was odd. They never fought. Hell, they were the reason Louis even believed in love. 

“He’s been lying to me, Lou.”

“Like he said he took the rubbish out but he actually didn’t or like, he’s actually not even Irish?”

“Like he’s been withholding things from me for months and didn’t even tell me about it in person, but in front of Harry and Liam and -” He paused and sucked in a deep breath. “And it really hurt my feelings.”

Louis climbed across the couch and pulled Zayn into his arms. “That’s the absolute worst, babe.”

Zayn was nodding against his chest and said, “The only thing that would make me feel better is if you stopped dating Harry.”

Louis let out a surprised laugh and he could feel Zayn laughing against his chest. “Oh, not on your life. Still, you and Niall will work it out, yeah? If I know him, and I'd like to think I do by now, and unfortunately, way too intimately,” he shuddered, thinking about the many times he had walked in on them shagging back when he and Zayn still lived together after uni, “I'm sure he had a good reason, and I'm sure as fuck that he's sorry and feeling just as bad as you.”

“I guess,” Zayn grumbled. “I'm still angry though.”

“You'll get over it eventually,” Louis shrugged. “Just try to forgive him soon, yeah? Because the universe isn't right when the two of you are fighting.”


	5. Chapter Five

“You're a man of habit, aren't you?” Louis said conversationally, as he broke a piece off of Harry’s scone, flicking the currant out, and popped it into his mouth.

“How do you mean?” Harry asked. Because he definitely wasn't. Spies never were. If they fell into any kind of routine, it was so much easier to pick up on, and thusly, pick them off.

“You said you order the same meal at that Italian place we went to,” Louis shrugged, sipping his coffee. “And now, you've ordered the same tea every morning for the last week.”

The two were at Costa again, as they had been every day for the last week, meeting up in the morning before taking train in opposite directions to work. Harry had had to lie and say it was conveniently close to him as well, instead of admitting that he actually lived close enough to HQ to walk to work and had to travel about 45 minutes every morning to get here. But as he was progressing more and more in his investigation, he figured the lie was okay. It gave him more opportunities to find out about Louis, and hopefully some kind of clue that Louis was involved in the PM’s plans. He definitely had had to become more aggressive in his approach. He hadn't found anything yet, but Louis could be an excellent liar. Besides, it wasn't like Louis would ever actually see his place. They weren't really dating. Granted, they now had a standing coffee date every morning, but this was still just a mission.

“I don't really like many teas,” Harry explained. “Besides this one.” 

“Citrus and ginger at that,” Louis grimaced. “You are not a true Brit, my friend.”

“Oh?” Harry smirked. “And what makes a true Brit then? Your Yorkshire tea?”

“Most definitely,” Louis nodded, grinning as he picked off another piece of Harry’s scone, his fingers sticky with jam. Harry didn't mind of course. Hell, he didn't even like scones. But he had noticed Louis eyeing it the first day, and had gotten it every day since, under the guise that it was for himself, though he only usually had a small nibble of it at most. “Never trust a man that doesn't like a cuppa Yorkshire, I always say.”

“Does that mean you don't trust me?” Harry pouted. “I'll have you know my intentions are mostly honorable.”

“I'm sure,” Louis snorted. 

“So do you?” Harry asked, wanting to know the answer for reasons he wasn't going to admit. “Trust me, I mean?”

Louis smirked, shrugging. “I haven't decided yet. I usually reserve that decision until the second date.”

“We've been on dates all week,” Harry frowned, though his lips twitched. “This is like our millionth date.”

“Are there now a million days in a week then?” Louis grinned. “I missed that memo.”

Harry snickered. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, luckily for you, young Harold,” Louis nodded sagely. “But these do not count. I don't feel properly wooed on coffee dates.”

“I'll have to try harder then,” Harry said.

“You're doing alright, I suppose,” Louis grinned.

Harry smiled, happy with the small praise. Shit. This was getting too deep. “So, what do you like to do in your free time?”

“Not done with the inquisition yet then?” Louis smirked. It wasn't a weird question. Harry had been somewhat grilling him for the last week. He gave the same answer he always did.

“I want to know everything about you,” he said. “I don't know if you can tell, but I happen to like you quite a bit.”

“Well, it's a good thing I happen to like you quite a bit as well,” Louis blushed, and Harry beamed at that.

“Your free time then? Assuming you have any free time from your classified line of work, of course.”

“Of course,” Louis snorted. “Just normal things really. I like football. I go to see my mum and the kids as often as I can. My mate Stan from back home and I usually round up a group for a quick game then. Other than that, I usually do other normal thing. Video games, movies, you know, the usual lot.”

“Are you good at football?” Harry questioned. Okay, so maybe some of it wasn't for the mission, but hey, Louis in a football kit was something he was interested in seeing. He was potentially a terrorist sure, but he was funny and cute. Definitely cute.

“I'm alright,” Louis shrugged. “Won't be playing professionally any time soon, but I can hold my own against the lads. What about you? Any good? And please remember that this is a critical question.”

Harry laughed. “I'm awful, I'm sorry. I'm all limbs out on the pitch.”

“I can see that,” Louis laughed with him. “Maybe I can get you out on the pitch some time, give you some pointers. No one I'm dating is allowed to be awful at football.”

“I'd like that,” Harry said. “Wouldn't want to be dumped for my abysmal football skills.”

Louis smiled. “You know what I just realized? We've been talking so much about me this week that I don't know much about you.”

“I'm not really that interesting,” Harry said.

“I'll be the judge of that,” Louis scoffed. “Tomorrow it's my turn.”

“Your turn for what?”

“To ask questions,” Louis rolled his eyes, as if it was obvious. “I get to lead the inquisition.”

Harry laughed. He was pretty sure half of his answers would be lies, but if it got him in further with Louis, he was okay with that. Okay, well he wasn't really okay with it. Revealing he was actually a spy and currently on a mission to seduce Louis and find out if he was a terrorist obviously didn't seem like it would go over well, for anyone. Still, a small part of him didn't want to lie. “Okay,” he said instead, jumping out of his internal dialogue. “Tomorrow, it's your turn.”

“Get ready, Harold, because I'm going to be asking the tough questions.”

“Yeah?” Harry smirked. “Like what? What is my favorite meal of the day?”

“You'll have to wait and see,” Louis smiled conspiratorially. “And also, please, Harold. Everyone knows breakfast is the best part of the day. Also, I'll definitely be more specific. For example, asking your favorite kind of cereal is going to tell me quite a bit.”

“Of course it is,” Harry nodded. “The true markings of a man: does he like Yorkshire tea and what's his favorite cereal?”

“Now you're getting it,” Louis grinned. “The answers to both of those should be of course and Cocoa Pops, just saying.”

“I'll try to remember that tomorrow.”

Louis grinned and opened his mouth to say something, but his phone beeped. He quickly dug it out of his pocket and typed out a message. Harry made a mental note to check that out later, based on Louis’ frown. “Shit, I have to go,” Louis stood, grabbing the last of Harry’s scone. “Can't be late for work.”

Harry stood as well, gathering up the rubbish. “Yeah, I should be heading out too.” He was actually running late as it was. He was probably going to be late to the weekly meeting. Not that he cared much of course, besides well, caring that Liam was probably going to shoot him. But Louis was definitely more important. For the mission, of course. 

They walked out of the coffee shop and Louis turned to him to smile when they came to the place where they usually parted ways.

Harry, acting on impulse, leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. They'd been doing this coffee date thing for a week. It seemed like the thing to do, right? Progress. It was definitely for the sake of progress for the mission. “Text me later?” He asked.

Louis was blushing. “Yeah,” he said. “Okay, yeah.”

“Great,” Harry beamed before turning and walking away. He was probably going to be late, but that blush on Louis’ cheek was totally worth potentially getting shot.

\---

Harry was definitely late. He snuck into the meeting room, hoping Liam didn’t know since his back was turned while he talked, though he did see the nasty look Winston shot him from across the room. Liam would get accused of nepotism yet again, which would make Liam make them follow even stricter rules and wider paths to get to their bar on drinking nights. Great. He slipped into the seat they had saved for him, in between Niall and Zayn, which was odd. Or rather, it would be if he didn’t know they were still fighting. Jeez, maybe they just needed to get laid so they’d get over this, whatever this was. Hell, he'd offer his own services up at this point, or rather, he would if he wasn't sure 100% that both Zayn and Niall would properly and thoroughly beat his arse for even suggesting it.

“He knows,” Niall said conversationally, talking about Liam obviously. Because, of course Liam knew he was late. He always did. But really, this was just part of his mission. He definitely shouldn’t get in trouble for it, though Liam was probably going to yell at him after the meeting, again.

Harry ignored him, and tried to focus on what Liam was saying, something about teamwork probably.

“What did I miss?” Harry asked Zayn quietly.

“Nothing,” Zayn snapped quietly, though he didn’t turn to look at Harry. Okay, so obviously he was still mad at Harry too. Which wasn't really fair. Zayn was the one who had set him on Louis in the first place, though, to be fair, he was pretty sure that was because Liam had made him. Still, Zayn had to see that there was a possibility that Louis was involved. There was too much evidence pointing towards it to just blindly absolve him. He understood that Louis was his best friend, but Liam was right. Sometimes, it was harder to see the bad in the people we loved.

Harry looked at Niall questioningly, wondering what they should do about Zayn because an angry Q wasn’t a good thing for anyone. Harry shuddered thinking about what terrifying gadgets he’d make in this mood. And well, Zayn was his friend and all. “Ignore him,” Niall rolled his eyes, his voice just loud enough for Zayn to hear. “He’ll talk to us again when he’s done feeling moody and betrayed.”

“I’m not moody, and I was betrayed,” Zayn snapped again, though this time, his voice carried out across the whole room. Which meant, of course, that everyone turned to look at them. Including Liam, who was currently glaring at Harry like it was his fault. Yup, he was definitely getting shot. He hadn't even done anything!

“Are we interrupting your lovers’ spat?” Winston said snidely.

Harry turned his whole body to glare at Winston, hard enough that the man looked away hurriedly. It was one thing for Harry to call their fight a lovers’ spat, but it was a totally other unacceptable thing for Ben fucking Winston to say it.

“As I was saying,” Liam said loudly, calling everyone’s attention back onto him. “That mission definitely could have gone very badly if Perrie hadn’t intervened which really goes to show how much we can accomplish by adapting that team mentality.” Harry zoned out. He had more important things, more urgent things to do than hear about whatever mission someone else completed. Instead, he thought about his mission, particularly the bombs. There was something off about them. He knew Zayn said they were similar, like they were being tested. And he believed him. It was just – he hadn’t been able to stop a single one, which was a success rate he did not like. What bothered him so much about it was that their intel was always just off. They were always tipped off, all three times before the bombs went off, long enough before for Harry to make the trip overseas, but then something went wrong. In Jakarta, they had been told it was a different building being bombed. In Argentina and Moscow, it was the timing. He had been told the bomb would go off at 2 pm in Argentina, and he had allowed himself enough time to try to stop it, before it had exploded long before 2 pm. In Moscow, the tip had come in too late, and it had exploded as he was on his way in. It was as if someone had deliberately wanted them to know about the bombs, but not wanted them to be able to stop them. Just to send Harry on a wild goose chase that would lead to no results. “We’re thinking next weekend,” Liam said, drawing his attention back to the meeting. “And I for one am very excited. I think it will definitely be good for us as a collective.”

“Next weekend for what?” Harry asked Niall quietly.

Niall halfheartedly glared at him. “For the retreat, pay attention.”

“Why would I when we know Liam will just outline all of this for us again later several times?” Harry smirked. “Besides, I’m okay missing the teamwork speech for the millionth time.”

Niall’s lip twitched. “He had more to say than just that this time.”

“Was it about agent cooperation? Because that is also called teamwork,” Harry rolled his eyes. Niall laughed quietly.

“Shut up,” Zayn whisper-snapped at them, and they fell silent. Normally, Zayn would join in their banter, quietly making fun of Liam and his speeches. Unfortunately, Zayn was still pissed at all three of them, so that wasn't going to happen this time.

It hit him suddenly, when he was staring at Liam to delude people into thinking he was paying attention to their fearless leader. As Prime Minister, Cowell was definitely privy to what MI6 was and what they did, and how much power they had. It wouldn’t be hard for him to get someone on the inside, someone who could feed him information, and more importantly, someone who could feed them information. Information he wanted they to know. Harry tensed in his seat. Someone like Louis.

Louis, who had an in with MI6, with Niall, even if he didn’t know it was Niall he was speaking to. Louis, who could easily call in the tips just when Cowell wanted him to, for MI6 to know what was going to happen, but not be able to do anything about. For him to gloat. It made sense. Because they didn’t think Louis knew Niall was his contact at MI6, but they didn’t know for sure. They also didn’t know how many of those secret phones Louis had. Hell, they hadn’t known about Niall’s until last week. There was no telling how deep it went. He could be talking to anyone else at the same time, feeding information, taking it. Fuck, this could be bad.

He knew he had to definitely keep this to himself for now. Zayn had already shut them all out, including Niall, who was incredibly and annoyingly difficult to stay mad at. God only knew what he’d do if he accused Louis of this openly. That was when Harry had decided to himself that he’d have to take the next step. He was going to have to bug Louis’ flat and soon. He had to know what the boy got up to when he wasn’t using the phone Harry had bugged, when Harry wasn’t inconspicuously following him around based on his iCal, and when he wasn’t with Harry himself on their dates.

“Why isn’t 007 listed on here?” Walsh’s voice broke him from his thoughts.

Harry shook his head and looked down at the paper suddenly in front of him, the paper titled Agents Not on Active Duty. It was on dissolvable paper, because this was, of course, too much of a security risk, and would be collected and dissolved right after this meeting. But of course his name wasn’t on there. He was technically on a mission. 

Liam tensed for a moment, his eyes meeting Harry’s briefly. Harry knew what Liam was thinking of course. His mission was top secret. No one outside of the four of them even knew about it, and for good reason, now that Harry thought about it, especially when he wasn't sure how secure their Intel was anymore.

“That was a typo on my part. 007 should definitely be on the list as he is not currently on any officially sanctioned missions,” Niall spoke up, covering all of their arses.

Well, that was a bald faced lie. Well kind of. Technically, his mission wasn’t officially sanctioned, but since it had M’s approval, it didn’t really have to be. He wasn’t sure what was going on or what Walsh meant to warrant it, but he nevertheless, glared at the older man. “Not that M has to explain anything to you, Walsh,” Harry said coldly. “Or have you forgotten? We’re not exactly a democracy here. We get in line when M says and lives are saved.”

“Also, no one cares about your opinion,” Zayn piped up coldly, also glaring at Walsh. Well then. Q might be mad at them, but at least he had their backs still. And well, nobody did cold glares and dead tones quite like Zayn.

“I’m sure everyone cares about nepotism,” Walsh said, crossing his arms. “Just making sure M doesn’t forget that his friends shouldn’t get to miss out on this shit.”

“As I’ve both explained and showed in my actions, there is no nepotism in this office,” Liam stood straighter. “We are all a team, and we all need to have each other’s backs or we could all end up dead. Which brings us back to the retreat.”

“What’s this for?” Harry whispered to Niall when Liam resumed talking, this time about teamwork again.

Niall rolled his eyes. “You’re horrible, just so you know. And one day I won’t be here to save your arse.”

“I sure hope not,” Harry said honestly. Niall wasn't an agent himself, but he was very much part of the reason why Harry was still alive. “I’d die without you.”

Niall grinned. “It’s the agents who have no active duties currently, and who can and will be required to be at the retreat.”

“Damn it, why does Walsh know I’m not on a mission at the moment?” Harry groaned quietly. “Now I actually have to go to this thing.”

Niall snickered. “It’s not that bad actually. We’re at this fancy Manor up North. The catering’s going to be to die for. I should know, I picked them. Plus, there’s like a lake nearby and stuff. It’s pretty cool. And I did mention the food I picked, didn’t I?”

“Of course you did,” Harry smirked.

“Obviously,” Niall scoffed. “Now shut up and pay attention. I’m not going to fill you in again.”

Harry sighed and leaned forward on the desk in front of him, resting his chin on his crossed arms as he listened to Liam describe the retreat in detail. Okay, so he didn’t really listen. He was pretty sure Niall was kidding, well like 75% sure. It was always hard to tell with Niall. Still, he’d just get Liam to fill him in later. Because he had more pressing matters to attend to, like figuring out how to bug Louis’ house without him knowing. He’d have to consult the handy dandy iCal again.

\---

Louis didn’t particularly like going for meetings inside of Parliament. It was intense the entire time. It shouldn’t be high stress, they’d won the election. They were in office. And yet, it still felt like the early days when they were trying to win people over. And he thought, maybe they still were.

He’d spent this Monday morning before the one pm meeting showing the new driver around on Ann Marie’s orders. He was quiet, as they all tended to be. But he somehow managed to look completely glazed over and calculating at the same time. It gave him the heebie-jeebies. 

He was waiting outside the large wooden doors while a meeting with several party members from the House of Commons went on on the other side. He was never invited in. He used to think that was normal until a year or so ago when he realized that not all secretaries were left waiting outside. Cowell had Ann Marie for the meeting though. It used to bother him, but it didn’t anymore. He used the extra time to catch up on his iCal and send about thirty emails that he should have responded to first thing that morning. 

The new guy, Robert, was around here somewhere. Louis was pretty sure he wasn’t meant to wander, but he didn’t really have authority to tell him so. 

“Excuse me, Prime Minister!” He heard a loud voice shout from inside the meeting room. Louis turned his head, surprised. Some of these meetings did turn into terse words which turned a bit more audible, but Louis hadn’t thought they’d been in there long enough for it to dissolve already.

He tried to listen to what was being said, leaning from his chair closer to the door. Out of nowhere, or maybe he’d been there all along, Robert stepped in front of the doors, becoming a sort of human sound barrier. His face was blank and Louis couldn’t help the slight tsk he let out.

Beneath the garbled yelling he could hear a calm, steady voice, but he wasn’t sure if it was Cowell or Ann Marie. But whichever it was, he knew both Cowell and Ann Marie were going to be pissed about it when they got back to the office, as they usually were after these parliament meetings. “Old-fashioned” and “out-dated” Cowell often called them. It kind of made Louis glad he didn’t get to sit in the meetings.

\---

“You will not believe the day I had,” Louis slumped on the couch.

Zayn rolled his eyes. “I doubt it was as bad as mine.”

“Yeah? Did your boss also hire the weirdest fucker to ever grace this planet?” Louis grinned, so ready for this competition on whose day was shittier with an IT customer service guy. “No way you're going to beat me, Z.”

Zayn had come over after work, demanding Louis to both distract and entertain him. Louis was more than happy for the distraction himself after his day at work. 

“Cowell hired someone new?” Zayn raised an eyebrow, an unreadable look passing over his face. 

“That's what I just said, keep up mate,” Louis rolled his eyes. “Not just anyone. The weirdest fucker to--”

“Ever grace this planet, yeah I got it,” Zayn said quickly. “What does the person do?”

Louis shrugged. “Security or driver or whatever. It doesn’t even matter. Cowell rotates through these people like a conveyor belt. There's plenty more where he came from, trust me. Of course, that also means I could probably be rotated out, but I'd like to think my iCal means a little more to him than that.” Or so he hoped. Ann Marie and Simon were shutting him out more and more lately. He was frankly a little concerned over his position.

Zayn winced. “I, um, I hope not.”

Louis mock glared at his best mate. “Try to sound a little less enthusiastic about me losing my job, yeah?”

“Sorry,” Zayn mumbled. “Where does he get these guys anyway?”

“This company,” Louis shrugged, avoiding the technicalities. “Anyway, so tell me what's up with you? Niall?”

“We got into it in the middle of Liam’s office today. We were talking about a client and then all of a sudden it just wasn’t about that at all anymore,” Zayn sighed. Ah, now Louis understood. Zayn was always really put out when things weren't okay with him and Niall. Granted, it wasn't very often that the two fought, but when they did, it was usually serious. “I'm just so mad at him still.”

“Mate, he's apologized, hasn't he? I know I don't know what he did or why you're mad but maybe you should give the him a break. It’s been a week already. He is such a cinnamon roll, I'm sure he didn't mean whatever it is he did,” Louis said honestly. Niall and Zayn were disgustingly perfect for each other and he needed them to get back to normal so his faith in love could be restored. “Maybe you should forgive him.”

“It's not that simple,” Zayn shook his head. “Anyways, I don't want to talk about it. I'll get over it eventually. Tell me about your crap day and this new guy.”

Louis looked at him. “Are you sure? You know I joke around a lot, but I'm here if you need to talk, yeah?”

“Are we being sappy now?” Zayn asked, deadpan. “Is that a thing we do now?”

“Shut up, we've always done it,” Louis pinched him on the arm. “But seriously though, Z. You know I love Niall, but I loved you first. I always have your back.”

“I'm okay for now, but thanks,” Zayn assured him, a genuine smile on his face.

“Okay, so back to my crap day at my crap job,” Louis said. “Seriously though, Z, this guy, Robert. Boring as fuck. Just once I’d kill for Cowell to hire someone with even a minuscule of personality. It's like he picks whoever fits most into World’s Boringest Men’s Digest.”

“I thought you usually vetoed them first,” Zayn said.

“And usually I do, but it's not like there's much to pick from,” Louis shrugged. Frank always sent the same kind of stock in either way. “They chose to opt out of my services this time, though. Maybe because the last guy I let pass through is no longer employed here and the one before that, for whatever reason, is sitting in an Argentinian detainment center, but still.”

Zayn winced again. “Sorry, mate. That’s shit luck.”

Louis waved him off again. “Like I said. We're basically a conveyor belt for these big, stocky, personality-free meat sacks. I'm sure he'll be out soon enough and someone equally just as boring will take his place. Personally, I'm hoping he disappears like the last guy. Might be the most interesting thing to happen to Robert, I swear.”

Zayn nodded slowly. “He probably will,” he said sagely.

“Are you free this weekend? I feel bad I keep bailing on our Wednesdays.”

“Can't, sorry,” Zayn said. “There's this thing for work I have to go to.”

“Oh, I think Harry said he's going to something for work this weekend too,” Louis said. His weekends were starting to open for the first time since he started working for Cowell, and no one was available. Typical.

“Yeah, it's this kind of workshop thing,” Zayn explained. “Mandatory. Niall and Liam are going as well.”

“You're all leaving me!” Louis sighed dramatically. “At times like these, it sucks that all my closest friends and maybe soon to be boyfriend work at the same place.” He caught a quick, barely there grimace from Zayn. “Maybe I should apply for a position at your company then we can all suffer through these workshops together. Anyone need a PA, do you think?”

He laughed at that, not noticing that Zayn wasn't laughing with him.

\---

“I’m quite jealous, if I’m being honest, that you get to escape the city this weekend,” Louis said, walking with Harry down his street. They’d gone to a pub just a few blocks over, one that didn’t sport a quiz night on Wednesdays, and had a really lovely meal and drink in a shadowy corner where no one else could see the heart eyes they were making at each other. 

Harry swung his hand just a little bit closer to Louis and grazed it lightly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a slight blush high on his cheekbones. “I wish I could take you with me.”

This time, as their arms swung past each other he tangled his fingers with Louis’, giving them a light squeeze.

“You’ve been working up to that all night haven’t you?”

“Absolutely,” Harry said as they came to a stop in front of Louis’ building. “I’m glad it went smoothly.”

“It could have been a right mess,” Louis said smiling up at him.

“That it could have been.” Harry looked down at him. God, he was pretty. The streetlight behind him was lighting up Louis face and really it shouldn’t look this nice. He bit his lip and saw blue eyes track the movement.

Harry lifted his hand to touch Louis cheek, softly caressing it. He felt a bit like he was playing the part of a lovesick teenager about to have his first kiss. A bit embarrassingly, he realized it was a little how he actually felt.

Harry lowered his head slowly, and he noticed, a bit distractedly, that Louis was rising up on his toes to meet him halfway. The kiss was short, but sweet and soft. Harry didn’t usually have kisses like that, but it was different. This mission was different and Louis was different. He felt the kiss, a soft press of Louis thin lips, all the way to his toes. 

And when they pulled back, Louis placed a small peck on the corner of his lips. “I could help you pack, if you wanted, tomorrow?” He bit his lip, nervously, Harry thought. But he was smiling.

“I’d love that.”

Louis leaned up and pressed another small kiss to his lips before saying goodnight. Harry stood outside with a stupid grin on his face until Louis had disappeared behind the closed door. He pulled out his phone and dialled quickly.

“M, I need a favor,” Harry said. Liam was going to be so pissed, but it was for the mission. “I need a flat and I need it for tomorrow.”


	6. Chapter Six

Liam, like always, had come through for him. How he found the most incredible warehouse conversion loft available in literally seven or eight hours, Harry did not know. Actually, it was probably Niall he should thank for providing him with the sickest place to live for the remainder of this mission.

He’d hastily packed the majority of his clothes and cajoled Buttercup carefully into her carrying case, before standing in the middle of his own flat trying to decide what he could bring to make it look less like a staged home. He grabbed a few knick knacks, a snow globe from his first trip to Paris in year 8 and a photo of him and the boys from a barbeque they’d had last summer. He already didn’t have many personal effects, constantly wary of leaving anything identifiable around to be used against him. Most of the stuff he had in the flat was too revealing anyway, things he’d gotten on various missions. He definitely did not want to have to come up with lies if Louis questioned why the hell he had peacock feathers from India and a statue of Anubis from Egypt. 

He shoved his suitcase into the boot of his car and placed Buttercup on the floor before taking off for his new home, well, temporary home. He hadn’t bothered to go into the office that morning, focused more on convincing Louis that he did really, honestly, live in this flat. And really, Louis should have no reason to doubt it. Plus, if Liam said anything to him at the retreat tomorrow morning, he'd just kindly remind him to fuck off.

Once he’d unpacked his clothes, he nipped into the shops for food so he could stock the cupboards. He may or may not have grabbed a box of Yorkshire tea after reaching for his citrus and ginger tea. And if he had, no one had to know. By the time he had gotten everything put away, he was exhausted and only had a few hours before Louis was meant to get off work and he would pack it all up again. Honestly, this mission was exhausting.

He swore he would only lay down for a moment, but he woke to his phone buzzing next to him. 

“Hello?” He mumbled sleepily into the phone. He heard a soft chuckle on the other end of the line.

“Were you asleep, Curly?” Louis said softly into his ear.

“Only for a moment.”

“If you insist,” Louis said. He heard a bit of rustling and the automated voice of the train announcement, before Louis said, “I’m just getting off the train. Did you still need help packing?”

“Yeah,” he said hurriedly. And then softer, “I want to see you.”

He thought he could feel Louis’ blush through the phone. He promised to text his address that he had written on a piece of scrap paper he should probably burn before hanging up the phone. He rushed to fix his hair and straighten his clothes. He also looked around to make sure the flat looked like a real person lived there before Louis arrived. 

When he heard the doorbell go off, he rushed to buzz Louis into the building. He wasn’t nervous per se, because Louis had no reason to think anything was off, but still. He wanted it to go well. For the investigation.

He swung open the door when he heard a light knock on it and was met with Louis’ smiling face. He stepped into the doorway and onto his toes to press a light kiss to Harry’s lips. When he settled back down, he smiled brightly and said, “Hi, sleepyhead.”

“Hi, Lou,” Harry stepped aside to let Louis in the flat. “I’m glad you could come help me. There’s no way I could pack for a two day trip on my own.”

“I figured, bloody useless you are.” 

They walked down a short hallway that let out into the living room. He saw the slip of paper with his new address on it and cursed himself, grabbing it quickly and shoving it into his back pocket. He really needed to burn that. He heard Louis let out a small whistle, and yeah, Harry could relate. The exterior wall was all exposed brick, with large French doors showing a small patio and views of the river, and the ceilings were lined with exposed wooden beams. It was gorgeous and he had made the same sound when he walked in for the first time as well. His real flat was better, of course, with a nicer view and more of a homely feeling, but this would do quite nicely. Thank you, Niall.

“I was thinking we could order some take away,” Harry suggested. 

Louis nodded and said, albeit a little bashfully, that he had his favorite Chinese restaurant programmed into his phone. While he ordered, Harry made a show of pulling his suitcase out of the hall closet, as if he hadn’t just put it in there hours before.

Once Louis had hung up and tucked his phone back into his pocket Harry suggested they move into the bedroom and he was rewarded with a quirked eyebrow, but no argument.

“If you thought I’d get a little slutty for your flat, you were right,” Louis said. The bedroom had the same brick and beams as the living room, but to enter you went through large wooden pocket doors and there was a large bed in the middle that Louis jumped onto and landed with a soft oof. Harry jumped in after him, settling in on his side.

“I honestly didn’t think I’d get you into bed this quickly.”

“Too be fair, your charm only played a small part in this.” He leaned up onto his elbow facing Harry before swooping down and pressing a short peck against his lips. These pecks were going to literally be the death of him. They stared at each other for a moment, smiling broadly, enamored and giddy, before Harry rolled of the bed and held a hand out for Louis.

“What do you think I need for two days on an estate?”

They both rummaged through his closet for a few moments and Louis started pulling things out: black jeans, soft t-shirts, a few pairs of gym shorts. Harry was glad he ended up bringing almost all of his wardrobe. Louis kept making comments about some of his clothes, mostly appreciative and Harry was making notes on which ones Louis seemed to look at for a moment longer. For recon missions of course. Not dates.

The buzzer went off, and right, that must be the take away. Harry went to grab the door, leaving Louis to rummage through his closet. He was comforted to know there was absolutely nothing incriminating Louis could find because Harry had only lived here for like six hours. 

He came back with a couple different cartons and they ate on the floor in front of his closet.

“So,” Louis started after slurping a noodle into his mouth. “What kind of trip is this?”

“A retreat basically.” Harry let out a sigh. “For team building.”

Louis let out a snort and said, “I’m glad we don’t do that at my job. I’d hate to be with my coworkers 24/7 for a whole weekend. We are in each other's pockets enough as it is.”

“I know what you do is classified, but tell me what you can. Do you work in an office? Do you hate your boss? Are you the boss?” He knew, of course, the answer to all those questions, but he needed to hear it all in Louis own words. And he needed to know what he’d lie about and how.

Louis chewed his food slowly, buying himself some time, Harry thought. Harry purposefully ate some chicken and pretended he was simply being curious.

“I’m most definitely not the boss,” Louis said with a little hint of a laugh around his words. “A bit of the low man on the totem pole actually. But I like my job, it keeps me busy. Sometimes when I come home at night all I do is collapse into bed.”

“Sometimes my job is like that too,” Harry added. He knew, fundamentally, that Louis would keep talking if he felt that Harry understood him. But still, truthfully he did. Running around after bad guys was exhausting. And he almost never wore the right shoes for it. Somehow Chelsea boots with a half inch heel didn’t work well chasing someone down a cobblestone street. Go figure.

“Sometimes I wish I was doing something else, that it might be easier. Or I might have more time to see my friends and my family. But,” Louis paused and lowered his carton of noodles. “I like the stress of it. I’m not sure my boss thinks I do much of anything all day, but I make more decisions than they realize. And I like that, I feel like I make an impact.”

Harry wasn’t sure what to make of that. Was he making decisions like, oh let me bomb Jakarta? Or making decisions like, let's move the afternoon meeting until tomorrow? Because really, that could go either way. His ‘impact’ could be deciding which country’s people died, but it could also be deciding where Cowell might be going out to dinner that night. Fuck, Louis was good, just vague enough but still answering his question. Harry bet he learned that from Zayn, who was really good at that too. He was going to kill Q. He hadn't realized he had spaced out but had continued to nod until he saw that Louis was looking at him funnily.

“And what about your super classified job in IT?”

“I like it,” Harry started, leaning forward towards Louis. “Lots of travelling. It wasn’t really what I thought I’d do when I finished school, but I’m glad it’s where I ended up.”

“What did you want to do?”

“Wanted to be a pop star. Thought I’d be the next Bieber or something, but with better hair.” Louis laughed, rocking back and forth a bit and Harry was smiling wide. He reached forward and pulled Louis in for a series of short kisses, both their mouths wide in smiles. Laughing still as they pressed their lips together, half teeth and crinkled eyes. He still felt their kisses all the way to his toes and he thought, probably, it was just the thrill of espionage. Nothing else.

When they were both so full they could no longer stand to be vertical for one more second, they laid down on the wood floors with empty cartons strewn between them. He felt a little drunk. Maybe it was the soy sauce.

“I think I need to throw these away,” Harry said, lightly toeing one of the boxes. “If I keep smelling it, my stomach might explode.”

“At least do it in that direction,” Louis waved, weakly, to the other side of Harry.

He made a show of sitting up, groaning a bit. He gathered up the cartons and said, pretending to look stern, “You better be working when I get back.”

Harry walked through to the kitchen and tossed the empty containers into the bin. He leaned against the counter and took a few sharp calming breaths. Everything was going fine and it wasn't like Louis suspected anything, but why did Louis have to be so cute? And just so sweet and funny and easy to talk to and just… Harry groaned quietly. No, he couldn't do this. He couldn't just fall for a potential terrorist. As sweet as he seemed, he was also possibly responsible for the death of thousands of people. God, he had never wished Zayn was more right about Louis and that they were all wrong more than this moment. Still, Louis was his mark. He was the mission. He wasn't falling for him. He couldn't.

He took a few more calming breaths and decided he'd been gone too long so he walked back into his room. He paused at the door way and couldn't help the grin that came onto his way at what he saw. Louis was no longer on the floor. Rather, he was perched quite snugly on top of his clothes. On his bed. In his suitcase. With Buttercup wrapped in his arms.

“I’m not sure it’ll zip like that.”

“Maybe we’ll have to take some of your clothes out then.” He tossed out a couple of shirts and they fell, unfolded, on the floor. 

Harry could see how it would go if he snuck Louis into the retreat in his suitcase, if it weren't already breaking about a hundred rules from their handbook. They wouldn’t even make it out of the car before they’d encounter a check for bugs, cameras, and x-ray scans. It was a nice thought, but there was probably no way he'd get it by the UK’s best agents. And he was pretty sure Liam would shoot him, for real this time.

“I’m sure no one would notice,” Louis smirked.

Harry laughed and held out a hand to help him out of the suitcase. Buttercup jumped from his arms with a soft thump and a meow as she sashayed out of the room. He hugged him tightly for a second. “If I could take you, I would,” Harry said. “But trust me when I say you're the lucky one.”

“The lucky one whose friends are all leaving him for the weekend to go hang out at some cool estate together without him?” Louis scoffed, though a smirk was playing on his lips.

“Liam is leading this whole thing,” Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't think it would hurt to let Louis know that, after all he was aware that Liam was their boss thanks to their night out the other week. And well, their collective lack of chill when it came to blurting out the first thing that came to mind, thank you Liam. “Which means that it'll be a whole lot of teamwork speeches and trust falls.”

Louis looked like he was deliberating for a moment. “Okay, that does sound like it won't be that much fun,” he conceded.

“Not at all,” he said truthfully, though not because of Liam. It was more because he knew Winston and Walsh were going to be there which kind of put a damper on the whole thing. It was definitely not because Louis couldn't go. Definitely not. 

Fuck, he was getting too close to it again. He sighed dramatically and leaned down to pick up his clothes again. “Now move it, mister. You're supposed to be helping me, remember?” He grinned at Louis. “At this rate, I definitely will be done by next Tuesday.”

A mischievous look came to Louis’ eyes. “Is that a challenge?”

“Perhaps.” Harry smirked.

“Alright, Curly, watch this,” he looked very determined as he began repacking Harry’s suitcase. “Don't just stand there, Harold. I never lose a challenge.”

“Aye, aye captain,” Harry laughed and saluted him before starting to throw his stuff into his suitcase as well. They were done in 3 minutes and 26 seconds, which Louis proudly told him had to be a record. Sure, his clothes were probably going to come out wrinkled when he got to the retreat, but for some reason, Harry just really didn't care.

\---

Harry woke up early on Friday morning to a text from Liam asking if he’d bugged Louis flat yet, as they needed it done before the weekend. And well, Harry had forgotten that he was meant to do that.

When he checked the time on his phone, he realized he should have just enough time to catch Louis before he left for work. This was probably going to go terribly because he was going in 100% without a plan. But he'd been in worse situations before. Granted, his getting out of those were about 75% luck, but he was hoping his luck continued to hold just a little longer. He tied his hair up into a quick bun and hopped around on one foot trying to get his left boot on before running out of the flat. At least it was much more convenient living near Louis and not across town now.

Maybe he should have called first, he thought, as he rang the buzzer. Did people even show up unannounced anymore? He didn't have much time to ponder because a moment later Louis’ voice came ringing through.

“Harry? What are you doing here?” He must have a video screen inside and Harry schooled his face into a smile. 

“I just, I know it’s stupid of me,” He paused and looked down bashfully. “But I wanted to see you before I left.”

He felt bad playing on Louis emotions. Everything else they had done led to the same effect, but he had enjoyed it as well. But this, this made him feel a bit bad. It probably shouldn’t, they needed to know what Louis was a part of. They needed to know what came next and this might be the only semi-legal way to find out. And if that meant he had to play his manipulation card a little heavily, so be it.

And clearly it was working because he was buzzed into the building.

Harry followed the numbers to Louis’ flat and he was about to knock when it was pulled open. Fleetingly, he wondered if he would be scolded for coming off extremely desperate. After all, he'd literally just seen Louis last night. God, he really should have planned this better.

“You’re such a loser,” Louis said, smiling as he pulled Harry into his flat. “But I’m glad you came by.”

This was the moment that Harry realized he should have had a plan. How to get Louis distracted so he could bug the flat? How to get him to not notice that anything was up? He almost flinched when he realized what he had to do. Harry had a special set of skills in the art of espionage that made him one of the agency’s best, and seduction was at the top of the list.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said quietly, biting his lower lip before he surged forward and attached his lips to Louis’. He heard him let out a little surprised squeak and then take in a sharp breath. But Harry carried forward, placing his hands at Louis hips, pulling him into him, and feeling the soft material of his shirt bunch between his fingers, pulling up where it was tucked into his trousers. Louis’ hands came up to grip his forearms as he, stumbling, guided them through the flat. He needed to get to the kitchen first. 

Louis parted his mouth when they hit the kitchen counter and Harry ran his tongue over his bottom lip before slipping it into Louis’ mouth. He snaked his right arm behind Louis’ back and pulled him flush to his front. Louis ran his hands up over Harry’s arms and settled them around his neck. He let out a soft moan when Harry’s tongue touched his.

The four bugs were all in Harry’s pocket and he carefully worked his hand in and pulled out the first one, while sucking on Louis’ bottom lip. He opened his eyes slightly, looking for a place to plant it. He turned and moved them farther into the kitchen, pressing Louis up against the stove. He could feel him half hard through his trousers where he was pressed against Harry’s thigh.

He had no comment about his own situation. This was all for the mission, but he was only human.

He stuck the bug to the back of the coffee maker and moved his left hand up to lightly caress Louis’ cheek. Louis pushed forward and started walking backwards with his mouth still firmly against Harry’s, his teeth sunk into Harry’s bottom lip. Harry wanted to lift him up, get his hands around his thighs, on his bum. He needed to get him to the living room, or the bedroom. Well, eventually he’d have to get to both, but he decided to let Louis guide them to their next location.

And the living room was where Louis had pulled him, slamming into a wall and then tripping over a rug, his lips on Harry’s neck right under his jaw. Harry snuck a bug behind the TV when they went stumbling by. He couldn’t help but moan quietly as Louis moved further down, his lips grazing his skin before he placed kissed along his collarbone, sucking on the skin there before soothing it over with his tongue gently. Fuck, Louis was good at this. 

He put his hands on Louis’ cheeks and pulled him back up, reattaching their lips in three quick, breathless kisses before pulling back and pressing his forehead against his.

“We should go to your room,” he said, his voice a bit more hoarse than he expected. His fingers slid under the hem of his shirt, lightly grazing his sides. 

“I want to, so, so bad.” Louis’ lips were bright red, absolutely wrecked. He looked down at his watch and made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. “But I’m late.”

Harry gave him another slow kiss. He needed just a few more minutes to plant the bugs, but he definitely wouldn’t mind continuing this for a while. “You could be a little late, just this once, couldn’t you?” He kissed him again, this time just letting his lips graze Louis’, taking his bottom lip between his teeth softly. “Since I’m not going to get to see you all weekend?”

He thought he heard Louis let out a whimper when he moved back slightly. Instead of agreeing, like Harry thought he would, he said, “I really, really, wish I could.”

Harry sighed and buried his head in Louis neck, planting gentle kisses along his neck, his teeth grazing his skin gently. He felt Louis pulse jump beneath his lips. God, he really, really wanted to continue, and from what he could feel through Louis’ trousers against his thigh, he did too. Harry knew he could probably push him a bit into agreeing, but he also knew he probably shouldn’t. He was supposed to leave for the retreat soon anyway. On to plan B then. 

Placing one final kiss on his lips, he pulled back and smiled at him. “Would you mind if I use your toilet then?” 

Louis let out a short laugh and pointed to where it was. As Harry walked down the short hall he saw Louis adjust himself in his trousers. And yeah, he understood. It was seriously uncomfortable. 

In the bathroom he stared at the bruise on his neck for a moment before planting a bug above the mirror. He shortly lamented the fact he’d probably have to hear Louis have a shit, but maybe he was also the type of guy to make all of his super secret, terrorist phone calls in the loo. So, bugging the toilet it was.

Before stepping back in the living room, he did the bedroom real quick, wishing he’d been able to do it under different circumstances, but alas. Another time. He placed the bug under the lamp on the nightstand. 

He caught Louis running around the living room pulling his shoes on and straightening his hair at the same time, muttering to himself. It was honestly adorable.

“I’m glad I was able to catch you this morning,” Harry said as he came up behind Louis, giving him a hug from behind and resting his chin on Louis’ shoulder. “I was afraid you might think I was crazy for coming over even though I just saw you last night.”

“I’m glad you did, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this.” Louis turned his head and gave Harry a kiss on his cheek, pressing his nose into the skin. Harry thought he felt Louis inhale slightly.

Once Louis had all of his stuff gathered for work, they left the flat together with their hands entangled and big, stupid grins on their faces. When they stepped out of the building, Harry gave him a few more short kisses, and it might have been the most prolonged goodbye of his life, but he didn’t regret a second of it. For the case, of course.

\---

Harry was pretty sure he was going to end up being the one shooting Liam this weekend. Because this was torture. Wasn’t this retreat supposed to be fun? Just the free agents in the department hanging out, building themselves as a team or whatever. How was waking them up at the crack of dawn on Saturday for a run fun? Normally, Harry wouldn’t have minded it. He was definitely in shape, had to be to complete half the missions he did. But the sun was barely out yet, and Harry was pretty sure he was dying as he laid out on the grass of the Manor next to Niall.

“I’m dying,” he told Niall. “Fuck, why did we have to run so fucking early? Can you not control him, for fuck’s sake, Niall!”

“You know he’s my boss too, right?” Niall rolled his eyes, though he sounded just as defeated as Harry. Niall wasn’t an active agent, and so, he did need to go through the bootcamp training for the job, but he didn’t have to spend half his missions running after people or running away from disaster. God, if they were this bad, Q was probably dead somewhere in the woods since he hadn’t made it back yet. Q’s department, hired solely for their brains, was the only department that didn't have to go through the occasional fitness test. Zayn had made sure of it.

“Bullshit,” Harry heaved. “You have the whole bloody agency wrapped around your finger.”

“Yeah, well,” Niall shrugged slightly, as if a full shrug was just too much effort for him right now. “I did get to pick the food.”

“Yeah, the spread last night was good,” Harry said reluctantly.

“Fuck me,” Zayn fell next to Harry. He was sweating and panting loudly. So he hadn’t died in the woods. That was good. And apparently he was talking to them now. 

Apparently Niall was thinking along the same lines because he said, “Oh, you’re talking to us now?”

“No,” Zayn said. “But I hate everyone else, and I’m not mad at Harry anymore, so it’s either you guys or die alone, so.”

“Well, that’s what friends are for. The friends who die after sunrise runs together, band together to push their fearless leader slash dictator into the lake later,” Harry was quick to add, a grin on his face. Niall snorted, and Zayn’s lips twitched. 

“Hang on, why aren’t you mad at Harry but you’re still mad at me?” Niall demanded.

“Because I’m prettier than you?” Harry smirked. Niall punched him, his strength apparently returning because ow -- that fucking hurt. 

“You know why, Niall,” Zayn snapped.

“Well, as long as I’m out of this lovers’ spat, I’m good,” Harry grinned.

“I’m going to punch you again,” Niall grumbled.

“Just kidding, Ni,” Harry said. “Anyways, I definitely need a shower. See you boys later for some more quality fun.”

He stood up after great effort and took a step towards the Manor. But of course Liam, fucking Liam, chose that moment to stand up and address the group. The good thing was that Liam looked happier and more stress free than he had in awhile, but the bad thing was that Harry could see the murderous glares Walsh and Winston were sending him. He nudged Niall with his foot and gestured towards the two. Niall sighed. They’d definitely have to watch that.

“Great work, team,” Liam beamed at them. “I know that definitely woke me up! I’m sure we’ll all have a great time in the next activity.”

“Is the next activity sleeping?” Zayn grumbled.

“I fucking hope so,” Niall groaned.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Zayn snapped.

“Okay,” Harry said suddenly, very loudly. He was kind of improvising. He had no fucking clue what Liam was planning, but he definitely had to do something about the situation currently going on by his feet. “The next activity is a fun one.”

Liam looked confused as Harry walked over to him. “I’m fixing Zayn and Niall, just go with it, yeah?” He whispered to Liam.

“Thank God,” Liam breathed.

“It’s, um, a trust exercise,” Harry was completely pulling this out of his arse, trying to remember what ice breaker games he’d played in freshers week that could work. He was coming up short, however.

“Let me guess, it’s the trust fall?” Winston said snidely.

“Luckily for you, Winston, it’s not,” Harry smiled at him. “Because I’m pretty sure no one here really wants to catch you.”

“So what’s the game then?” Walsh demanded as Winston glared at him. “Since we’re all here to be a team.”

“Well, Walsh, I am glad you asked,” Harry said dramatically. “Because this next exercise definitely is all about team building and trust.”

“What’s the exercise?” Zayn asked warily. Niall was just narrowing his eyes at him, as if he knew what Harry was planning. And fuck, Niall always knew everything.

“Right, so we’re going to break up into pairs,” Harry said, “And no, Walsh, you cannot be with Winston. The whole point of this is to get out of our norms so we can all work together. So we’re going to assign teams.”

Yeah, Niall’s eyes were definitely narrowed and giving off a I’m going to murder you both in your beds vibe. “And what do the teams do?” He asked coldly.

“I’m going to let M explain,” Harry grinned at Liam, who turned to glare at Harry. “Go ahead, M.”

“The exercise, er, right, um, it’s uh - Minefields,” he blurted quickly.

“Minefields,” Niall repeated slowly.

“Yup, Minefields, you heard the man, Ni,” Harry said. What the fuck was Minefields?

“I’m going to set up for it, yeah?” Liam said. “You guys are all free to go grab a quick bite to eat if you want. Meet back here in 15?”

They all dispersed quickly, more than half of them discussing the viability of them running up their rooms to shower real quick and still getting back in time. Harry was definitely one of the few who could make it to the shower and back within the 15 minutes, and he was headed in that way, when someone grabbed his arm.

“I know what you’re doing,” Niall glared at him.

“I’m not doing anything,” Harry said innocently. “Just trying to help Liam create a team building experience for the whole department to work better on missions with maximum agent cooperation.”

“You realize who you’re talking to, right?” Niall rolled his eyes. “You’re not even close to slick, just so you know. How you became our top agent, I’ll never know.”

“I slept my way to the top,” Harry answered cheekily. 

Niall’s lips twitched. “If this ends badly, just know that I will murder you. In your sleep. After I shave your hair.”

“Alright, alright,” Harry covered his hair with his hands. “No need to get so hostile. Just trust me, alright? I think I know what I’m doing.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t leave me so confident,” Niall shook his head.

“Hey, H, I brought you a croissant,” Zayn walked over to them, completely ignoring Niall. He handed Harry a plate, and fuck, it smelled so good. Okay, maybe he’d shower later.

“Thanks, Q,” Harry said, sending Niall an apologetic look. Jeez, he really hoped his plan worked.

He ate the croissant quickly, hungrier than he had realized. Thank God Zayn wasn't mad at him anymore. Now he just needed to help him forgive Niall too and all would be right in the world. Well, besides the PM planning whatever the fuck he was planning. 

The sun had risen quite a bit during their run, and it was starting to warm up. He sighed and pulled off his shirt as they walked back to the back lawn where Liam was just finishing setting up.

“What the fuck is that?” Zayn demanded suddenly.

“What?” Harry was confused. It wasn't like the boys hadn't seen him with his shirt off before. He often paraded around his flat in nothing but his boxers when the boys were over. Hell, a couple of times he'd definitely even walked around naked. This, though, was nothing new.

“That bruise on your chest,” Zayn narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at it. “The one that looks like a love bite.”

Oh yeah. He had forgotten about that little addition to his body from Louis. He fought the urge to smirk, remembering yesterday morning. Mostly because he was sure Zayn would kill him. “It looks like a love bite because it is a love bite.”

“And who gave you a love bite?” Zayn glared at him.

“Who do you think?” Niall rolled his eyes. “Louis, obviously.”

“Ugh, I cannot handle this!” Zayn groaned, obviously quite put out if he didn't even snap at Niall for talking to him.

“Styles finally got himself a boyfriend?” Walsh asked, sitting down near them, obviously having been listening in.

“Someone finally tamed you, did they?” Winston glared. 

“Someone wanted to?” Walsh added snidely.

“Yeah, it was your wife,” Harry said smoothly. “Unfortunately, I had to end it then. She was quite put out, of course. She wanted to leave you and run away with me, but she just wasn't the one.”

Walsh opened his mouth to retort, anger written clearly on his face. But he was interrupted by Zayn.

“In other words, mind your business,” he snapped at them before turning to Harry and lowering his voice. “Why the hell is Louis giving you love bites?”

“We’re dating, Q,” Harry rolled his eyes. He held his hand up to stop Zayn when he opened his mouth to respond. “Look, I know he's your best mate, but he's also an adult. We both are consenting adults, alright? Trust me when I say I didn't do anything he didn't want.”

“You know why I'm concerned,” Zayn crossed his arms, sighing after a moment.

“I know,” Harry said. “And I really hope you're right, and we’re all wrong. I can see why you like him, really. But please stay out of this, okay, Q? I'm asking you as both your friend and 007.”

Zayn sighed again, and shook his head. “Fine.”

He ignored the way Niall was staring at him, almost as if he was scrutinizing him, closely, as if he was reading every feeling and thought he'd had about Louis since this started. And fuck, somehow, Niall always knew everything. 

Fifteen minutes later, half the department was showered and clean, but all of them were on the back lawn, looking at a bunch of balls scattered around the grass. God, Liam was just making it too easy to be mocked now. 

“Okay,” Liam clapped his hands together excitedly. “This is going to be fun! Basically, everyone is going to be assigned a partner. One of you will have a blindfold on, and it is your partner’s job to guide you safely through his minefield using only their words. If you touch any of the balls, you get blown up.”

Harry bit his lip from making a comment at that. He really needed to have a talk with Liam about not walking right into the jokes.

“So, teams are!” Liam said, pulling up his clipboard. “Edwards and Styles, Walsh and Clifford, Winston and Hemmings, Horan and Malik, Thirlwall and Hood, Irwin you’re with me.” He continued listing the different pairs, half the names of which Harry didn’t even know. He was starting to see what Liam meant about being a team. 

Still, he was with Perrie, and she was nice enough. He smiled at her when she came to stand next to him. “Wanna be the one blindfolded, or do you want to hold my life in your hands?”

“In my hands definitely,” Perrie said after thinking about it for a moment. “No offense, love, but I’m not too keen on letting just anyone blindfold me, yeah?”

He snickered, remembering why he liked Perrie. “Understood. Personally, I’d love if you blindfolded me.” He winked at her and she laughed. “But can we go near the end? It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I need to watch Niall and Zayn.”

“Sure,” she said. “That was clever of you, by the way, setting it up like this.”

“Let’s hope it works,” he said as he looked over to his two friends. They were currently standing close enough to be partners but far enough that it was obvious neither of them wanted to stand there. He sighed. This really better fucking work.

He repeated that to Liam when he went to go stand by him. “It will, hopefully,” Liam responded. “By the way, don't think I don't see that hickey on your chest, H. We're going to have a serious talk when we get back. Maybe read through the handbook together. Line by line if necessary.”

“I'm pretty sure I'll be busy at whatever time you want to have that meeting,” Harry said smartly.

Liam glared at him. He started to whisper yell, a Liam specialty. “You remember he's a mark, right? A potential terrorist mark? You're not supposed to sleep with him!”

“I'm sorry, but what did you think seduce meant?” Harry raised an eyebrow at him.

Liam groaned. “If this ends badly, don't think I won't shoot you. Okay,” he said the last bit loudly to the group. “Let's begin.”

Liam had thankfully made Niall and Zayn go first. Niall had put the blindfold on and Zayn was glaring at the back of his head. “This is stupid. I'm not an agent. There is literally a .07% chance that I'll ever be in a situation like this. I've done the math.”

“It's not about being in this kind of situation, Q,” Liam sighed. “It's about trusting your partner to not get you killed.”

“And you better not get me killed,” Niall warned. 

“I don't want to do this,” Zayn ignored him, talking to Liam again.

“Too fucking bad, Q,” Liam said in exasperation. “Now hurry up and get Niall across the minefield before I put you on an actual minefield.”

Harry laughed, thoroughly enjoying it when Liam’s threats were directed at someone else. Zayn glowered at him. That stopped Harry’s laughter abruptly. Zayn’s silent threats were definitely scarier than anything Liam could throw at him. Harry should know more than anyone just what Zayn could do. After all, he was usually the one that got to test all the cool weapons he developed in his lair. And some of them, well, let's just say Harry definitely wanted to make sure Zayn didn't get mad at him again. God, this had better work. He was 99% sure his life would be at risk if it didn't since he was pretty sure Zayn had worked out what he was up to.

“Fine,” Zayn grumbled, turning back to glare at Niall’s head. “Let's go then.”

“You're supposed to tell me where to go!” Niall said.

“Obviously forward.”

“No need to be a tosser about it,” Niall grumbled. 

“I'm not a tosser, you're a tosser,” Zayn shot back. “And move to the left. No further, for fuck’s sake, Niall.”

“How the hell was I supposed to know? I'm blindfolded,” Niall turned his head to glare at Zayn. At least Harry thought that's what Niall was doing. 

“Whatever, just move over more to the left and then forward,” Zayn said. 

“Try not to get blown up,” Liam added helpfully. “Remember, they're not just balls, they're mines.”

“Shut up, M,” Zayn snapped.

“How many steps?” Niall asked carefully.

Zayn took a moment to calculate it in his head. “7 and you'll be past the ball.”

“Mine,” Liam corrected.

“Shut up, M,” Niall grumbled.

“Okay, turn right for 3 steps, no, smaller steps,” Zayn instructed. “Turn back forward and walk 6. Good, move 1 step to the right and walk forward 8. No, bigger steps, like I would take normally. Okay, move 2 to the left and then 4 forward and we’ll be past the last ball.”

“It's a mine,” Liam said again.

This time they both turned to face him, Niall simply turning his head in the direction of Liam’s voice. “Shut up, M.” They both snapped and then froze. Niall reached up to take the blindfold off and looked at Zayn, who was smiling at him.

“Thank fucking God,” Harry mumbled to himself. It had worked. For once, Liam’s unneeded commentary had come through. Thank fucking teamwork.

\---

Niall really had done a good job choosing the caterer. The whole group of them were having dinner in the dining hall with a large TV playing BBC news at the end of the room.

“This roast is incredible,” Zayn said from next to Niall. 

“I think I could die happily in the gravy,” Niall said. “Especially after all those team building exercises, which were all lot like normal exercises, just with partners. I'm just saying.”

“Being in shape is an important part of this job Niall,” Liam said.

Zayn snorted, “Your job maybe. You realize not all of us leave HQ, right? Ever. We’re not all 007 here, running head first into danger.”

“Heyyyy,” Harry pouted. 

“We all have to be prepared.”

Niall and Harry both made a face and Zayn just rolled his eyes. “Is that what the handbook says?”

Harry and Niall laughed as Liam glared at Zayn. He was glad that the four of them could be back to their usual, good natured, bickering selves. Fighting wasn't fun. And Zayn being mad at them really put a damper on his comedic one liners.

Suddenly they were interrupted as twenty or so different chimes started going off all at the same time, including Harry’s, Niall’s and Zayn’s. The agents around the room all rushed to pull out their phones, but Harry was distracted when he heard Liam’s phone ring. This didn't seem good. Liam lifted the phone to his ear, speaking a few terse words. Harry turned to his own phone. The alert that came through on his phone was sitting below a text from Louis he'd have to read later.

Multiple bombs detonated in downtown Chicago. American terror alert is set to high.

Harry looked at Liam first, who had a deep wrinkle between his eyes, one he only usually got when he was upset. Zayn looked shocked. Niall looked like maybe he wouldn't be able to finish the rest of his meal. 

“Shit,” he heard someone in the room say, Perrie maybe? He looked up to see that most of the agents in the room were now focusing intently on the television. Someone turned the volume up and they all watched in unified horror as the reporter talked about an explosion at The Loop in Chicago with multiple smaller explosions around the city. Fuck, this was bad. 

His focus on the television was broken when he saw Niall pass him a small slip of paper. He turned away to look at it. Woods, 11 pm. He nodded briefly in acknowledgement, knowing Niall would see, before slipping the paper into his pocket and turning back to the BBC broadcast.

It very well might not be connected, he knew, because well, it was America and God knew they had a lot of enemies, but it fit with the other bombings. And if it was indeed connected, this announced a clear sign of escalating terror. But escalating to what? 

\---

Harry waited until 11:15 pm to leave his room and head to the woods. He didn’t want anyone to see him because he was now pretty sure there was a mole in MI6. And he didn’t want Liam to get in trouble for nepotism if all four of them were caught for things like having secret meetings in the woods even when they were having secret meetings in the woods.

“How are you late even to this?” Niall rolled his eyes when Harry made it to the group. “You literally had to walk like five feet from your room.”

“Excuse you, Niall, but I was making sure I wasn’t caught, or followed,” Harry glared at him.

“You weren’t followed, were you?” Liam asked in concern. Harry shook his head. He had made sure of that. “Okay, good. So we can begin.”

“Why didn’t we have intel about this bomb beforehand, like the others?” Zayn questioned.

Harry had thought about that as well. It was just furthering his belief that the tip offs about the other bombs were just Cowell gloating, maybe through Louis. He wasn’t sure about that part yet, and he didn't want to say anything until he had some proof.

“The appropriate channels must not have been contacted,” Liam sighed. “It doesn’t matter how it got past us. It happened. We move on, and figure out how to stop it from happening again.”

They all nodded in agreement. Unfortunately, that was much easier said than done. They should have stopped this one from happening in the first place. They could have if they had been able to figure Cowell out already. No, not they, Harry thought. Him. This was technically his mission. He was supposed to get close to Louis to stop this from happening. And instead, he had gotten distracted by pretty blue eyes and sweet kisses. He was going to have to be better from now on, less distracted, less blurring the lines.

“Are we absolutely sure this is connected to the other three?” Niall questioned. “The States have enough enemies that it doesn’t necessarily mean it was connected to Cowell.”

Liam looked at Harry for a long moment, deliberating. “You’ll have to go.”

“I figured,” he said. And he had. He had known he would be sent to Chicago to collect the bomb remnants for Q if nothing else. That would be the only way to connect it to the bombings in Jakarta, Argentina, and Moscow.

“Any leeway on Louis?” Liam asked, his eyes darting to Zayn for a brief moment.

Harry avoided Q’s eyes altogether. “I bugged his apartment yesterday morning. I’m hoping it will give us something.”

“No,” Zayn said firmly. “I don’t care what you guys say. We are not going to find out anything from Louis, because he’s not a terrorist. Whatever Cowell is planning, Louis is not a part of it.”

“Zayn,” Niall said softly, putting his hand on Zayn’s arm comfortingly. 

“No, Niall,” he snapped. “You know Louis, more than Harry and Liam. You know he’s not capable of this.”

“You don’t know that actually,” Harry said quietly, finally looking at Zayn. Sure, he thought Louis was cool and cute and he had really been enjoying his time with him, but that didn’t mean Louis wasn’t guilty. Harry sure as hell hoped he wasn’t, but he couldn’t rule it out yet. 

“He thinks the new security guy is shady!” Zayn said in exasperation, as if he was trying to grasp at straws. “He told me about the new guy, you know the one Harry heard him request from the mob? He thinks he’s shady as fuck. Why would he think that and tell me if he was a part of it?”

“Because terrorists don’t have to always trust the other terrorists they work with,” Liam said. “Look, mate, we know he’s your friend. Believe me, I know. None of us want to be right about this, trust me. But the evidence is pointing pretty staggeringly against him. And right now, he’s our only lead to stop this.”

“He’s not,” Zayn insisted. “It looks bad, I know, but I know him.”

“Q, I really want to be wrong about this, believe me,” Harry said. Like before, he ignored Niall’s penetrating look. “Louis seems like a nice bloke. But we can’t just stop the investigation because of that. You know we can’t. People hide behind masks all the time. He could have changed since you knew him in uni, or he could have hidden it from you then too. Or maybe you’re right, and he’s innocent. But like Liam said, he’s our best lead right now.”

Zayn sighed in resignation and Niall put his arm around him comfortingly. 

“Okay,” Liam said. “Harry, you’ll have to head out tonight so you can be back by Monday with a full report.”

“Aye, aye captain,” Harry saluted him.

“We done here then?” Niall asked.

“Actually, no,” Harry said. They all looked at him. “I think we need to be more careful.”

They all looked at him incredulously. “You?” Niall snickered. “You think we need to be more careful?”

Harry glared at him. Okay, so maybe he was the most reckless of the four. And maybe he often did things under an ask forgiveness later mentality, but still. “Yes, Niall, I think we do.”

“What’s wrong?” Liam questioned.

“I don’t know, there’s just something unsettling about this,” Harry sighed. “Don’t you guys feel like we’re always just one step behind?”

Liam looked at him with betrayal in his eyes, though Harry knew it wasn’t directed at him. No, he was just picking up what Harry was throwing down. “You think there’s a mole.” It wasn’t a question.

He nodded, and Niall’s eyes widened while Zayn looked pissed at that. “I can’t prove it,” he said. “It’s just this weird feeling I have. Our intel is always just one step too behind for it to be a coincidence.”

“Fucking Walsh and Winston,” Zayn growled.

“That’s what I thought too,” Harry admitted. “But they were both here. Their alibis were that they were being douchebags at dinner. So I mean, we all know they’re dicks but they’re not mole dicks.”

Liam sighed. “Fuck, this is just what I needed.”

“We’ll figure it out, Li,” Niall said comfortingly. “Don’t worry. We’ll be more careful, like Harry said.”

“We better figure it out soon,” Harry said quietly, looking around at them, the only four people he trusted in this world short of his mum and sister. “Before another bomb goes off.”

\---

Louis hadn’t moved much over the weekend. He was propped up in bed surrounded by empty take away boxes and had the last series of Bake Off playing on his laptop next to him. He was pretty sure Sue Perkins was his soul sister. There should really be some perks to working all those long hours for the PM and hanging out with the Bake Off cast should definitely be one of them. 

He was in the middle of fawning over Tamal’s great love of sandwiches when his phone started to ring. He could hear it somewhere under his blankets and a pizza box. He started shoving everything on the floor until he heard a plonk that sounded heavier than the others. Great. 

He leaned over, half falling off the bed, and snatched it up off the floor. He answered it quickly, while still a bit upside down.

“Hello?” He hadn’t even looked to see who it was before he answered, a little breathless from his search. He pushed himself back up onto his bed. He had a small moment of panic that it would be Ann Marie.

“Lou?” He heard Harry’s voice crack over a bad connection. “I think I might’ve lost you. Hang on, is that better now?”

“I can hear you,” He said a little louder, pressing his phone to his ear. “Where are you?”

“On my way to the airport, I’ve got to go out of town for a couple of days.”

Louis felt his heart sink a little, which was stupid, really. He just, he wanted to see him again, hoped he’d see him again for coffee in the morning. “Oh?”

“A last minute work thing,” Harry said. He sounded strained, but Louis didn’t think it sounded like it was just the bad connection. “Feel free to blame Liam.”

“I’ll call him to complain first thing in the morning.”

“Please do! He deserves a good yelling. Call him a few names while you're at it.”

“Will do! Did you have a good weekend then?” Louis asked, laughing.

“Yeah, it wasn’t too terrible. Miss you though.” Harry paused and Louis could hear him breathing. “I was hoping we could-”

And the line cut off with a screech and a beep. Louis looked at his phone and they had been disconnected. He tried to call him back, but it went straight to voicemail. He sighed and settled back into bed, tossing his phone aside. Well shit. He wouldn’t even see him again until a few days, however long that was, to find out what Harry was hoping they could do. He really hoped it was a continuation of Friday morning. Or not. Whatever. 

He tried to get back into Bake Off, but not even Nadiya’s eyebrow game could recover his mood.


	7. Chapter Seven

Louis was a little put out. Okay, so he was a lot put out. But honestly, what else was he supposed to be when he was supposed to have had a standing coffee date before his commute to work? He couldn't help it! They'd been doing it for two weeks now, him and Harry, meeting earlier to grab a cuppa and eat the scone Harry would get pretending it was for him when really even Louis knew it wasn't. The man was not slick at all. He had caught onto Harry’s plan pretty quickly the first time he bought a scone the second date, right after the day Louis mentioned it was his favorite. Hell, the first day at least Harry had made an effort and took a bite of it, but after that, he just bought it for “himself” and sat back with his sodding citrus and ginger tea and let Louis take it piece by piece. Pathetic, really. Still, it was nice. It was sweet. And from what Louis could tell so far, it was so Harry. He just seemed like one of those guys, the good ones. He should really send Zayn a fruit basket for introducing them. Okay, maybe an email with a picture of a fruit basket. That, Louis could definitely handle.

If someone hadn’t had to fly out for work yesterday night, he might have enjoyed a nice cup of Yorkshire this morning, Yorkshire and a nice scone. Instead, he had grudgingly made himself a bland mediocre cup of God knew what in the work canteen. Okay, so he might have been sulking, but really, no one had to know.

“Hiya, love,” a voice he didn't recognize broke him out of his sad thoughts. He looked up from his stupid boring cup to see a pretty dark haired girl smiling at him, holding a cup and a plate of biscuits.

“Hi,” he smiled at her. “Can I help you?”

“Actually, I was hoping I could help you,” she said. “You’ve been frowning at that cup of tea for quite a bit, so I figured I’d make you a new one, and maybe throw in some biscuits? No one can frown at biscuits, after all. And really, a shit cup of tea sets the whole day off, doesn’t it?”

“Thanks,” he laughed as he accepted the cup and plate. He took a timid sip and sighed. This wasn’t as good as the tea he’d been having every day for the last two weeks, but it was better than the foul concoction in his own cup. And okay, so he was a little biased, because his usual cup was also often accompanied by a nice face and dimples. And a scone. “If I wasn’t so highly disappointed with this cup, I would definitely be throwing out something about how my mum told me not to accept sweets from strangers, or something.” 

“Oh right, sorry, it’s my first day. I forget people don’t automatically know each other sometimes,” she grinned. “I’m Jesy, just hired as a junior member of the Household Staff.”

“Nice to meet you, Jesy, junior member of the Household Staff, and thank you for the tea save,” he smiled at her. “I’m Louis, ministerial diary --.”

“Secretary, I know,” she finished. “Shit, sorry. I also sometimes forget I should let people finish their sentences. Maureen told me who you were during my induction. Nice to meet you, Louis.”

“Are you enjoying your first day?”

“Yeah,” she bit her lip. “It’s just a little intimidating, innit? I mean this is 10 Downing Street. I’m scared I’ll make a mistake and cause some kind of national incident.”

He laughed. He could actually see himself getting along with Jesy, which was definitely different from most of the rest of the staff here. Most of them made him want to stab himself out of boredom. “Well, if that happens, I promise to cause a big enough distraction for you to make a run for it.”

She grinned. “Thanks, I’m glad I can count on you to hold them off while I flee the country then.”

“Please let me know if you need anything. I know it’s a bit tough at first, but we’re all a team here, yeah?”

“A team, right,” she nodded, a small smile on her face. “Thanks, Louis, I definitely will. I should head back to work before Maureen finds me slacking off. Also, I didn’t actually make the biscuits, so don’t feel bad for hating them and chucking them at my head if they’re shit.”

He laughed as she walked away. Yup, they were definitely going to get along.

\---

“Louis, you’re having lunch with Greg James tomorrow,” Ann Marie said. She was in the doorway to the PM’s office, not looking at him but rather at the tablet in her hand.

“I am?” he asked, sitting up a bit straighter behind his desk. Greg was the diary secretary for the Speaker of the House and although Louis and him got on quite well, their bosses, at least publicly, did not.

“Yes, you sent him an email this morning,” she said, matter of factly, as if it was something he had simply forgotten. “He just confirmed. It's in your inbox.”

“Ah yes, of course.” He knew this game, it was one they used to play quite often, but hadn't done in months. “I've been meaning to meet with him for ages to catch up. On business.”

“Yes, I had thought so. There have been some recent events you'd wanted his opinions on, correct?”

“Quite a few actually,” Louis said. Ann Marie hummed and then went back into the office. 

Maybe it should bug him that they used him for things like this. Twisting the opinion in the office so that if anyone overheard nothing would seem amiss. But his formal lunch dates were often set up my Ann Marie. Gathering information had been something he'd been doing since the beginning though. It was something that everyone who worked in Parliament did, and Cowell surely wasn't above playing dirty. After all, the party won the majority and a lot of that had to do with Cowell himself. 

\---

His quiff had melted on the train that morning. The July heat had finally decided to kick in then. He haphazardly tried to get it back into place while walking to the Pret a few street over to meet Greg for an early lunch. He knew that Ann Marie had intended on him taking Greg somewhere and properly wining and dining him, but that was never really their style. 

What they sometimes did after their lunches or dinners was something they never really talked about, it wasn’t like a thing. They were honestly just friends. It only happened a few times. This year. But the last time was in like, March. And he was pretty sure Ann Marie knew, and actually supported it. It did work in her favor, didn’t it? And really, it wasn't her business who he slept with. Granted, he was kind of working at the time, but he had gotten what they needed in the end. That's what mattered. Besides, it definitely wasn't a thing. 

When he got to Pret he could already see Greg sitting at a table by a window fiddling on his phone. He pushed his hair up one last time as he walked through the door in a feeble attempt at getting it to stay, please.

He dropped down dramatically in the seat across from Greg. “I think I might melt.”

Greg let out a small laugh, undoubtedly used to these sort of entrances. “Good day to you too, Mr. Tomlinson.”

He wondered for a moment if Greg had gotten similar orders with maybe an added bonus to stay professional. Which, fine. Louis could do that. He could play this game all day. They'd definitely played this game with each other enough times for him to catch on quite quick.

“Lovely to see you again, Mr. James.” He reached out his hand, quite seriously course, and gave Greg’s a shake. If he badly hid a smirk, well then. Only Greg would know. “Shall we eat?”

Once they had gathered their food, it was time to get properly started.

“How have things been since I've last seen you?” 

“Quite busy actually, it seems that there is a good deal of movement.” Each sentence and each word within was a code to Louis. It was all context and subtext. Nothing could be said outright. Nothing could even be said in a mildly veiled way. But Greg knew what Louis was here for, so he knew what clues to give. And Ann Marie had told him what he needed to give in return. 

“Maybe it's the heat settling in.”

“Full force this time of year, isn't it?” Greg took another bite of his sandwich and glanced at his watch. Louis tracked his eye movements and noticed it was a little past eleven. There were things he was meant to say and things he was meant to remember from Greg. The numbers were always key. 

“Nearly unbearable.” Louis took a long drink of his water. “Can you believe there's already been four days of it and another three to come?” 

“Let's hope they can spread out a bit. It’s hard to handle them all at once.”

“I agree. It's getting outrageous.”

They both sat back in their chairs after that. The people at the tables around them continued to chat and laugh, but Louis and Greg silently appraised each other. Had they talked about everything they were meant to? Did they understand each other? Usually they did. Well, somewhat. This was an old game for them. Conveying secret messages to their bosses with meanings even they didn't quite understand.

“I've got another twenty minutes to kill and the bathrooms in here lock,” Greg said with a raised eyebrow. Louis let out a snort. 

“As romantic as that is, Gregory, I'm kind of seeing someone.”

Greg shrugged. They had an easy friendship that translated just as easily in and out of a sexual one. Louis appreciated that about them. But he was going to be good. For Harry. 

 

\---

It was becoming a bit of a tradition to get drunk on the plane, but not too drunk. He was seeing Louis when he landed. Liam could say all he wanted about Harry drinking after missions, but if he really had a problem with it he wouldn’t have kept restocking the bar. He took another sip of his martini and surveyed the other man in the cabin.

What he learned while he was in Chicago was that the Americans had no idea who could be behind it or that it could be in correlation with the other attacks around the world. The news channels were already trying to connect it to ISIS or al Qaeda, but they had no proof of that. And really, Harry had no proof it wasn’t that but he was suspicious. The timing of the attack with the majority of MI6 off the grid along with all the latest world terrorist attacks being connected had him pretty sure this was the same culprit. 

The Americans, of course, wouldn’t just let him have what he wanted. Especially not without a valid reason and he couldn’t just drop into Chicago and say, Hey, I think our Prime Minister is bombing world cities for no apparent reason and also I have no real solid proof. No, he couldn’t do that. At least not without potentially starting a war and/or getting arrested for treason. And he wasn't too keen on either of those things happening. 

So he told half-truths and for everything else he evaded the question. We have reason to believe this bombing is in connection with a series of other bombings around the globe. We think they are being conducted by a British National. This news is not public. Of course MI6 and the CIA have a long standing history of organization cooperation. Of course we will do anything to stop it. 

And while he did win the right to transport the bomb remnants across the ocean and into Q’s lair, this came at a price. He took another drink. That price was Jeff Azoff, golden boy of the CIA.

Liam was going to kill him, so he absolutely was going to tell him first thing. Or maybe put it off as long as possible. Yeah, he was definitely going to put it off. At least till after drinks. Maybe until tomorrow. Yeah, definitely until tomorrow.

Harry looked over to Azoff now, sitting idly across from him, reading a magazine. He had to admit that of all the agents the Americans could have sent, he didn't actually mind that it was Jeff. Granted, he would have preferred that the Americans just let them handle this without interference but he knew there was no chance of that after the attack on Chicago. But if it had to be any American, he was glad it was Jeff. They were at least friends, or rather as much friends as two spies in different agencies could be. They were definitely friendly at least. Jeff had helped Harry with a case a few years back, and Harry had returned the favor just last year. He didn't exactly trust him like he did Liam, Zayn, and Niall, but he trusted him enough to not get him killed. In the spy world, that basically made them best friends. 

Still, that didn't mean he was particularly happy about having to bring him back. Like they couldn't handle this mission without him. Americans, honestly.

He sighed, pulled out his tablet and plugged in his headphones, knowing there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides, he had several days of Louis to catch up on. Jeff looked up at him for a moment casually as Harry settled back into the chair so he smiled at him before turning on the feed from the bugs in Louis’ flat, and if he was silently praying he didn't hear anything incriminating, well, no one had to know.

\---

Harry’s plane landed earlier than he had thought it would and the first thing his phone buzzed through with was the pub they were going to that night. As he walked into it now he wondered if Louis had chosen the location because it was right off the Piccadilly Line and he’d be able to get there the quickest from Heathrow. He almost felt touched, because something told him that was exactly why Louis had picked it.

He spotted Liam first at a table in the center of the room. Across from him were Zayn and Niall, but no Louis yet. He must have been stuck in commuter traffic. Which was fine. Harry was early himself and somewhat surprised that any of them were here yet, especially with how deliberate their escapes from the office and routes to the pub always had to be, courtesy of Liam’s orders. Honestly, how Liam didn't realize the entire office knew they were friends was beyond him. They had been friends before Liam became M, and it wasn't like that friendship would just end. But it made Liam happy and more comfortable, so they, of course, went along with it every time they had a lads’ night out, no matter how bloody inconvenient it was.

He sat down heavily into the chair next to Liam and said, “Hello, lads.”

Niall and Zayn greeted him back with smiles and a wave on Niall’s end, but Liam went straight into work mode, despite the pints on the table in front of them. “How was America?”

“Straight to it then, Liam? No ‘Hi, Harry, how are you, Harry, we’ve missed you terribly, Harry?’” Harry said back sarcastically. “America was fine, Liam. They were about as pleasant to work with as always.”

“So they gave you nothing,” Niall said. “Also, hi, how are you, Harry, we missed you terribly. Liam’s been in a right state with you gone so long, and it definitely wasn’t fun for the rest of us, just saying. Couldn't have taken any longer, could you, honestly. Bit selfish of you, if you ask me really.”

“Had to fight them a bit for it, but I got what we needed in the end.” He smirked at Niall, trying to be careful about what he said in public, but he knew they understood that he was able to get the bomb remnants. He was a little afraid to tell them what else he had to bring home with him. He was pretty sure none of them were going to like it. It was fine. He'd tell them later.

“They just gave them up?” Zayn asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “That doesn’t sound like them.”

“What did you have to give them? Bermuda?” 

“Why would they want Bermuda, Niall?” Liam asked.

“I don’t know, it’s literally right there!”

“No, I didn’t have to give them Bermuda.” Harry paused. “Look, maybe I’m just naturally charming.”

The three of them looked back at him with matching bitch, please looks. But he was. It hadn’t worked this time, but he didn’t have to tell them that now. He’d do it in the morning. There was definitely too much explanation needed to deal with it right now, and honestly, he was just a tad bit drunk.

“It doesn’t really matter how I got them,” he stated instead. “I’ll bring the remnants to your lair later tonight, Q.”

“It’s not a lair,” Zayn snapped, as per usual. “But also, great, thanks, I’ll analyze first thing in the morning.”

“It is totally a lair, babe,” Niall snickered. Zayn half-heartedly glared at him.

“Moving on,” Liam said loudly. “What about the bombing? Was it similar to the others?”

“Yeah, I think so, but --,” he was cut off by Zayn.

“Louis! Over here.”

Harry turned around much quicker than he probably should have, ignoring Niall’s smirk, as he looked for Louis. He smiled widely when he saw him walking towards them, their eyes connecting across the room. God, he knew it was wrong, but a piece of him had actually missed him. For the mission, of course. Okay no, he couldn’t chalk that one up to being for the mission, even in his own mind. Fuck, he really hoped Zayn was right and Louis was totally innocent. And not a terrorist. He hadn't heard anything incriminating on the feed from his planted bugs, at least. He drank in the sight of him, still grinning. He looked even better than he remembered, even if he’d only seen him almost a week ago now. And he was definitely liking what he was seeing now. That is, until he saw who was walking with him. Jesy? Seriously? What was she doing with Louis? 

“Hi,” Louis smiled at him, climbing into the seat next to him. “You’re back.”

“I’m back,” Harry smiled, trying to ignore the fact that Jesy sat down across from them, next to Zayn, who was looking at her with a bit of a bewildered look. Niall was smirking, of course. And Liam, fucking Liam, somehow, was the only calm one out of the four of them. “Did you miss me?”

Louis tapped his chin dramatically. “I suppose so.”

Harry matched the grin that played on his lips and leaned forward to connect their lips. He thought he heard Liam choke on his beer, but he focused on the soft sigh Louis let out against his lips, and smiled, only pulling back finally when he felt someone kick him under the table. Zayn probably, going by the glare he was sending Harry. Harry laughed when he saw that, sure enough, Liam’s calm resolve had broken by the sight of them, and looked a bit like he was having palpitations. 

“It’s rude to kiss people in public,” Zayn grumbled.

“It’s rude to watch people kiss in public,” Louis countered.

“It’s also rude to not introduce your friend,” Jesy added.

Louis let out a small laugh and said to the group, “Everyone, this is Jesy. She’s just started working with me. Jesy, this is Liam, Niall, Zayn, and Harry.” He pointed each of them out as he went. 

Harry couldn’t help the way his eyes narrowed at Jesy, almost challenging her. This was his assignment. It was his job to sort out this fucking mess and he didn’t like that she was working it too. And he knew it was all Liam’s fault. Liam was the only reason Jesy would be here right now, with Louis. He’d have to have a word with him later about not only putting someone else on his case, but doing it without telling him. Him being out of the country was no excuse. 

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Jesy said with enthusiasm. They all let out similar exclamations and he could tell Zayn was as confused as him. So at least he had that going for him. “Sorry to crash lads’ night out.”

“We're happy to have you,” Niall said genuinely because of course that fucking little leprechaun knew what the hell she was doing. So Harry had to hate her right now, on principle. He liked Jesy, he really did. Just not right now, not when she was with his Louis. Okay, shit. Not his Louis. Because Louis wasn't his per se. But he was his mission. 

“So what do you do then, Jesy?” Harry asked, giving her a hard look across the table. 

She was about to speak when Louis cut her off, “Classified, babe.” He said this with a laugh and a wink in Jesy’s direction. She laughed with him and it seriously irked Harry that they seemed to have some sort of inside joke. That was his inside joke with Louis. 

“I’m going to go grab something from the bar,” Jesy said, starting to stand.

“Oh no, let me. I need to go grab one for myself and Harold too, by the looks of it.” Louis said, waving her off. 

Once he had gone Harry turned to Liam, glaring at him so hard that Liam was lucky Harry didn’t have Q’s prototype glasses on that could have probably blown up his head. “Seriously?” He demanded.

“You have no right to be angry with me, Harry.” Liam sniffed and took a small sip of his beer. Oh, please. 

“No right to be angry with you?” Harry glared harder. “This is my mission!”

“Technically, it’s not a sanctioned mission,” Jesy added helpfully.

Harry glared at her too. “It’s still mine, and you cannot have it.”

“Too bad I’m still your boss, so I can do whatever the hell I want,” Liam continued. “She’s staying.”

“Like hell she is!” Harry tried to keep his voice down, looking up at the bar quickly to make sure Louis wasn’t on his way back yet. Luckily, he wasn’t. Good. So he had time to kick Liam under the table. Hard. Liam winced slightly.

Jesy rolled her eyes. “Relax, 007. No need to be so dramatic. This isn’t a Shakespearean play. I’m just assisting you. Getting closer to Louis in -- another way. Because I’m pretty sure your way won’t work for me.” She looked down at her chest. “Don’t have the right parts, I’d imagine.”

Niall snorted. “Definitely not.”

Harry glared at him too. Unsurprisingly, the only person who was with him on this was Zayn, even if it was for different reasons. “I don’t like this,” Zayn said quietly. “He’s not a -- he’s not one of them. We don’t need two agents on him, weaseling their way into his life.”

“Hey, I do not weasel,” Harry glared at him too. Fuck it, they all deserved it right now.

“We’ve been over this, Q,” Liam said, sighing. “Until we can clear him, he’s just as much a suspect. I'm sorry you two don't like it, but it's still happening. She's got her in and she's staying. H, drop the bomb remnants to Q’s lair in the morning, and make sure you fill Jesy in on what he finds. You’ll be working with her a lot on this.”

“It's not a lair,” Zayn snapped again.

“And think about it this way, with two of us, if he is innocent, there’s twice as much of a chance of us finding the proof that he’s not connected,” Jesy said, ignoring Zayn. Because really. “Also, settle your lovers’ quarrel later, because he’s walking back now.”

“I’ll show you a lovers’ quarrel,” Harry grumbled. Even Zayn rolled his eyes at that one. Okay, so maybe not his best comeback, but still. He had been caught too off guard, it wasn’t his fault! He eyed Louis getting closer, and lowered his voice. “Fine, but don’t get in my way.”

She nodded discreetly, turning to smile at Louis when he put down three pints. He handed one to her, and slid another in front of Harry before sitting back down. “So, what are we talking about?”

Thankfully, they were saved from answering by the announcer for the quiz making a spectacularly loud entrance by dropping the mic on the floor and then slinging around a whole slew of expletives. 

“Oh! Excellent, I like him already,” Louis said, grinning at the small stage at the back of the pub. “By the way, we are registered as Gettin’ Quizzy With it.”

\---

“Jesy seems nice,” Harry said as they walked to Louis’ flat, hands intertwined. He tried to keep the bitterness out of his tone. Because she was, and he knew she was. Still, she was definitely poaching his mission. And so he had to hate her for the time being. It was probably somewhere in the handbook.

“Yeah, she is,” Louis agreed easily. “She's a right laugh at work.”

“At the American Embassy?” 

“What?” Louis laughed. “That was a horrible guess, love.”

“I'll get it one day,” Harry pouted. They'd been playing the game for a while, since their first date. Harry knew exactly what Louis did of course, but as far as Louis knew, all Harry knew was from the deduction from his guesses, namely now that he did something for the government.

“Not with guesses like American Embassy you won't,” Louis snorted. “Especially since I'm pretty sure you have to be American to work at the American Embassy, and I, thankfully, am not.”

“Not with a favorite like Yorkshire tea, you're not,” Harry grinned. “That's definitely proper Englishman material.”

Louis laughed. “I'm glad you realize my tea preference is so important. And also right. Because--.”

“You can never trust a man who doesn't like a good cuppa Yorkshire,” Harry finished, stopping as he realized they were in front of Louis’ building now. He tugged on Louis’ hand, pulling him in closer, his arms wrapping around his waist. “Does that mean you don't trust me yet then?”

Louis grinned, his own hands traveling up Harry’s arms, settling on the back of his neck while he pretended to dramatically deliberate. “I suppose I could make an exception for your white blossom, Harold.”

“I was hoping you'd say that,” Harry said softly, leaning in to connect their lips. Louis gasped into his mouth, and God, it always drove Harry mental how he always did that. How he always knew it was coming, and somehow, couldn't help himself from reacting to the rush of it all. Every time. 

His palms flattened on his lower back, pulling him tighter against him as he pressed his lips firmer against Louis’, deepening the kiss. Confidently, he caressed Louis’ tongue with his own, remembering the reaction he had gotten last time. Fuck, he could do this all day, just kiss Louis, listen to the soft pleading moans he was eliciting from the smaller man. He took a step forward, pressing Louis back against the wall next to the building door. He knew this probably wasn't appropriate in such an open space, but he didn't even care.

He brought one hand up to brush his fingers across Louis’ jaw, his tongue licking into his mouth. Louis whimpered against him, going completely slack in his arms, his hands gripping Harry’s neck tightly, drawing him closer.

Harry’s other hand gently pushed under his shirt, playing softly against the skin there. He felt Louis shudder against him, felt how hard he was pressing against against his thigh. He pulled away only slightly, planting kisses along his jaw, to nibble softly on the skin below his ear. “I missed you this week,” he whispered into his ear.

“I, fuck,” Louis whimpered when Harry sucked hard on his neck, his tongue running over the reddening skin. “I missed you too.”

They jumped apart when the door to the building opened and a girl walked out, smirking when she saw them as she walked by. He looked at Louis, and they both laughed. Harry was pretty sure his face was just as red as Louis’ right now.

“Do you -- do you want to come in?”

He definitely did, and he was about to tell him so when he phone beeped. He quickly saw it was a text from Liam, asking him to call for a full debrief on the Chicago case. Fucking Liam. How was he cockblocking from all the way across town? Plus, he did have to drop the bomb remnants in his bag off to Zayn. He sighed and smiled apologetically at Louis. “I really, really would. But work calls. Raincheck?”

Louis sighed dramatically. “This is revenge for last week, isn't it? When I couldn't be late for work?”

Harry laughed and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. “Trust me, that revenge would hurt me just as much as you, so no, definitely not.”

Louis grinned. “Go on then. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“For coffee, definitely,” Harry smiled as Louis leaned forward on his toes to kiss Harry’s cheek on last time.

“And I will definitely hold you to that raincheck,” Louis whispered into his ear before he pulled away.

“I'm counting on it,” Harry grinned before he stepped back, letting Louis walk into his building before he pulled out his phone to call Liam. He adjusted himself in his trousers as he waited for Liam to pick up. Fucking Liam.


	8. Chapter Eight

“I'm just saying, man, no one likes you guys,” Harry said matter of factly as they walked out of the elevator. “The entire world hates you. That's just the facts.”

“Jealousy,” Jeff scoffed, a smirk on his lips. “It's all jealousy.”

“It's really not,” Harry said, leading Jeff through HQ. A few faces peered at them as they passed, taking in the American. He could tell they knew something was up.

“It sounds like you're still mad that we had a smaller army than you and we still kicked your asses in the Revolution.”

“Please, maybe back then we were a little peeved, but now we are more than happy to say we aren't connected to you guys since everyone hates you,” Harry laughed as they got to Liam’s office. “Hey, Niall.”

“Haz,” Niall greeted him, not looking up from his computer. “Hey, Jeff.”

“Hey, Niall,” Jeff said. 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Is there anyone you don't know, Ni?”

Niall stopped typing on his computer, tapping his chin while he pretended to consider it. “Well, I didn't know your mam for the longest time, but we’re well acquainted now, so, no, there isn't.” He finally looked at Harry, his face deadpan. “That means we had sex. I'm saying I had sex with your mam, in case that wasn't clear.”

Jeff laughed while Harry glowered at Niall. “You're such a little shit.”

“I know,” Niall grinned. “Now, what do you want and why are you here, Jeff? I'm a little busy, and I'm pretty sure I don't have you on the schedule.”

“Is M busy?” Harry asked. 

“Of course he is,” Niall rolled his eyes. “But we can go in anyway.”

“Thanks,” Harry grinned at him before leading Jeff into Liam’s office. Niall followed closely after them. “Hey, M.”

“Harry,” Liam looked up, a bored expression on his face. That is, until his eyes landed on Jeff. His eyes narrowed slightly before he turned to glare at Harry. “Seriously? You brought a civilian here? You understand what Secret Intelligence means, right?”

“He's not a civilian, M, calm down,” Niall rolled his eyes. “This is Jeff. He's part of the American CIA. Graduated top of his class. Son of Irving Azoff, retired ex-head of the CIA, a bit of a legacy really but earned his way through his own deeds. His mam was also involved in the CIA, ran the Special Activities Division, retired a few years ago. That's actually how they met, as trainees. It's a cute love story.”

Jeff was staring at Niall with his mouth open as he sprawled out the information about him. Harry snickered. Niall’s knowledge of everyone and everything always astounded most people. He also made a note to ask Niall for that story later on. He loved a cute love story after all.

“Oh right,” Liam said slowly, looking at Jeff now. “Jeff Azoff, yeah? I've heard a bit about you from your superiors. You helped with the Martinez case a few years back, if I recall?”

“That's right,” Jeff smiled. “Pleasure to finally meet you, M. Can't say I've heard much about you besides the usual mumbo jumbo that passes through the channels though. Youngest head here at MI6 ever, rebuilding it from the ground up, all good stuff though, don't worry. Can't say we have a Horan around the CIA to fill us in on the rest of course. Any chance you'd be looking for a transfer, man?”

Niall snorted. “I'm good, thanks.”

“Right,” Liam said. “Umm, not to be rude, but what are you doing here besides trying to steal my secretary, who you, for the record, cannot have?”

Jeff looked at Harry. “I thought you said you were meeting him for drinks last night. You didn't tell him?”

“We didn't meet for drinks,” Liam glared at Harry. “We - ran into each other while out. Out separately, of course. Also, what didn't you tell me during our official and not over drinks debriefing, 007?”

“Right, M doesn't fraternize with us lower beings,” Harry snickered. Niall laughed. “Sorry, I forgot.”

“Well then,” Jeff smiled at Liam. “Since my moronic British counterpart here left it out of his debriefing, I'm here on behalf of the CIA and United States government for this terrorism case. Our understanding is that you're already looking into it, and it might be connected to other terrorist attacks around the world?”

“Is there anything you didn't tell the Americans about our top secret case, Styles?” Liam just continued to glare at him. 

“Yeah, did you give them the keys to the city as well, H?” Niall snickered. “Maybe told them about Loki?”

“I had to tell them something!” Harry said apologetically, glaring at Niall. “They weren't giving up the bomb remnants without the info. I didn't tell them much, just the general stuff. We don't have a suspect just yet, not sure who,” Harry looked pointedly at Liam on that. God knew what the Americans would do if they knew the British Prime Minister might be behind the terrorist attack. “But we are pretty confident they're all connected and we’re closing in on a few leads. They agreed to let us continue running lead on the case.”

Liam let out a deep breath in relief. They all knew how trigger happy the Americans could be, and they definitely did not want a declaration of war on their country. 

“I'm pretty sure it would have been better to just give them Bermuda,” Niall said.

“Why would we want Bermuda?” Jeff mused, chuckling. 

Niall shrugged. “I think the more important question is, why wouldn't you want Bermuda?”

“They don't want Bermuda, Niall,” Harry snickered.

“Enough about Bermuda!” Liam groaned. 

“Also, I already know about M’s dog,” Jeff added helpfully. “H told me about him during the whole Martinez case.”

“Yes, thank you, Jeff. Anyway, part of the agreement for us getting the bomb remnants was Jeff,” Harry continued sheepishly, wincing at the absolute murderous look Liam sent him at that information. “We're running lead, but they sent in Jeff for -- assistance.”

“And you didn't think to mention this to me last night?” Liam raised an eyebrow. 

“I was kind of busy with the mission, M,” Harry rolled his eyes. Honestly, Jeff being here wasn't as important as finding out what the hell Louis knew about all this. “Also I got the bomb remnants to the lair last night, Q is analyzing them now. You're welcome.”

“Looked really busy with the mission last night, H,” Niall laughed. Harry glared at him.

“So what? The Americans don't think we’re able to handle this on our own?” Liam asked slowly. Harry knew Liam was thinking of the politics of it all. How it would look for him as the Head of MI6 to need the US to swoop in to help. 

“Of course not,” Jeff said easily. “The United States definitely does not take attacks on our nation lightly. To be honest, it's all a bunch of politics. You must understand. We can't just sit back and do nothing. Especially when their argument is that you've known about it for a while, from our understanding, and they were still able to attack Chicago without you knowing. The CIA disagrees. They know you're more than capable of handling this. But I'm simply here to lend a pair of fresh eyes, another take on any data collected so to speak. I'm definitely not here to undermine you or take over the case. Just say the word, and I'm gone, man, but look at it this way, it’s a way to appease the men and women in the big chairs back home without causing an international incident and hopefully end this whole thing before it gets any worse.”

Liam sighed, deliberating over it all. “Fine, Styles, catch him up on what we know so far,” he said after a few moment.

“On everything?” Harry raised an eyebrow at him. Harry liked Jeff, he really did. But he was a spy, just like Harry. And worse, an American spy. With loyalties to the United States. Who would feel compelled to tell his superiors that the Prime Minister was most likely to blame for the attack. Which would definitely cause the international incident they were hoping to avoid.

“Everything,” Liam looked pointedly at Harry before turning to look at Jeff. “I'm agreeing to this on one condition.”

“Name it,” Jeff said easily.

“You do not repeat any of this to your superiors, not yet,” Liam said slowly, watching Jeff’s expression.

Jeff raised his eyebrows, looking intently at Liam. “You do have a suspect.” It wasn't a question.

“We do,” Liam agreed vaguely.

“A suspect I can't tell my superiors about?” Jeff looked intrigued. “Fuck, who is it? The Queen? No, Prince William? The Prime Minister?”

He was just joking, Harry knew, but it made him tense up. He saw Niall was just as tense at that. “Your agreement to my condition?” Liam asked again.

“We'd like to put a stop to this as soon as possible whatever means necessary, so I'll agree for now,” Jeff said after a moment. “Until it affects the safety and security of the United States again.”

Liam nodded once, probably having expected as much. “Okay then, have a seat.” He waited until they sat across from him. “So, Azoff. Just how much do you know about our Prime Minister?”

\---

Louis was sat on a bench in St. James’ park on his lunch break eating a sandwich he'd grabbed from Tesco and chewing slowly so as not to disturb the massive headache he was sporting. He was only a little hungover from the night before, mostly he was sure it was from stress. He could literally feel the tension in the air at work. There was no screaming or terse orders, but everyone was on high alert and it had been like that all week. He could see it in the way they walked, in the way Ann Marie was slinking around the office not saying a word. No one knew what was going on and if they did they weren't telling him. 

He was contemplating how homeless he'd look if he took a nap right here, right now, when his phone started to buzz in his pocket. Louis couldn't help but feel a sense of relief when he saw it was his Mum. 

“Hi Mum,” he mumbled into the phone. 

“Louis, love, you sound exhausted.” He could picture the crease in her forehead when she was worried. “You really shouldn't stay out with Zayn so late.”

“It's fine, Mum, it's not that anyway. Just a lot going on at work today.”

“Well I hope you're taking care of yourself, I worry so much about you living out there all alone.”

“You know that's not a problem. I like having my own space.” He picked at the bread of his sandwich. “I just miss you all.”

“That's why I was calling actually. Fizzy has an open day at UCL coming up and I figured we could bring the whole brood down.” He could hear Doris and Ernest babbling behind her as she shushed them. It had been so long since he’d last seen them. 

“It's nearly August, isn't she a little behind?”

“I'm just thankful she's doing it.” His Mum paused, before continuing, “We could all grab lunch, maybe with your new friend and then you could watch the twins while Fizzy and I go for a visit.”

“That all sounds good, but what new friend?” 

“I know you're seeing someone.”

“You can't possibly know that.”

“Call it mother's intuition.”

“I'll call it bullshit,” Louis laughed into the phone. “Come on, who spilled the beans.”

“I've been sworn to secrecy,” she said. 

“So Zayn,” he rolled his eyes.

“Secrecy, Louis,” she singsonged. “But do bring him around. It's been so long since we've met any of your boyfriends.”

He thought about how long it had been since he'd had anybody worth introducing, since uni maybe. He'd been so busy with work, in the office all week, traveling on the weekend. There was no time. But with Harry, somehow, he filled in the empty spaces in his schedule. He fit around everything else and it wasn't like he needed to make time. It just worked. 

“He's probably not my boyfriend yet.”

“Yet!” His mom said joyfully into the phone. 

\---

If you had asked Harry if he had left the office a little bit earlier that Friday in order to prepare for his date, he’d lie. But he did need to shower and blow dry his hair and maybe check over the clothes in his closet a few dozen times trying to remember the outfits Louis had commented on. But even if that happened, no one needed to know. 

As it was, he was ready for his date nearly an hour early. Louis had texted him that he was running behind and that he would come over once he had managed to escape the city. He was laying on the couch with Buttercup napping on his chest when the buzzer went off at his door. He stood up and tried to cradle her in his arms, but she pounced out of them with a hiss and ran off into the bedroom. Well, at least she seemed to like their temporary home. Besides, he was anxious to see Louis. To continue gathering information, of course. 

When he opened the door, his first thought shouldn’t have been that Louis seemed to always surprise him. But there he stood with a bouquet of flowers and cheeky grin. Harry knew he should care that he wasn’t yet able to predict and know what Louis would do next, but also, his heart started to do something funny and that was a little more concerning.

“Well, are you going to invite me in or are you gonna just ogle me for the rest of the night?” Louis scoffed.

Harry shook himself out of his thoughts and grinned at him, stepping aside to let him in. And maybe he was ogling him a bit, but only since Louis had mentioned it. “You can come in if those flowers are for me.”

“Of course not,” Louis replied nonchalantly as he stepped in. “They’re for Buttercup.”

Harry rolled his eyes, though the grin didn’t leave his face. “I’m pretty sure that’s a lost cause. You’re much too short for her.”

Louis halfheartedly glared at him, holding the flowers towards him. “I’ll have you know, I am the perfect height. It’s not my fault you’re a giant. Besides, Buttercup and I have a special bond. She’d look past it, even if I was too short, which I’m not. We really connected last time I was here.”

Harry snickered, taking the flowers. He leaned forward, kissing Louis’ cheek. And if he lingered too long, well, no one had to know. “Buttercup says thank you for the flowers. Let me just put these in some water, and then we can go.”

“Great, I’m bloody starving. Where are we going?” Louis asked.

“I was thinking we could go to this place I know,” Harry said as he busied himself searching for a vase. Damn, he forgot he didn't actually live here and he had no bloody idea if he had a vase. Which, he apparently didn't. He grabbed the largest glass he could find and filled it with water, placing the flowers in there. “It's a little different, but it's good.”

Something in his tone must have made Louis skeptic because he gave Harry a scrutinizing look. “Are you taking me to a Mexican place? Because all the ones around here are shit.”

Harry laughed and grabbed his wallet and keys, walking to the door. “No, it's vegan.” 

That made Louis stop. “You want me to eat vegan? Seriously? Do you know me at all? Hi, I’m Louis. I like meat and dairy. And I dislike when my plate is all grass. It’s nice to meet you.”

Harry rolled his eyes, smirking. “It's good, I promise.”

Louis gave him a long look before he followed him out of the flat, letting him lock up. “If it's not, you owe me big time.”

“Deal.”

Harry could feel Louis’ apprehension throughout the drive to the restaurant and despite pulling out all of the best small talk he had stored up, he didn’t seem to open up to the idea. Looking at the menu didn’t seem to help much either. 

“I’m not sure what to get,” Louis said, staring down at the menu. For all of his blustering at his flat, Harry was a bit surprised to see he didn’t bring it inside. He could see in some of his mannerisms how he was able to work for such a high powered official. Louis had a lot of sass, but he knew how to check it at the door when necessary. 

“I’m going to come clean,” Harry said looking at his own menu. “I’ve never actually been here before.”

Louis leaned across the table and said in a harsh whisper, “You what! What if we die from contaminated tofu or whatever they use as egg substitute is mixed with cyanide!”

“I don’t think they’d be able to pass the health regulation if that was a problem.”

Louis let out a huff and leaned back in his chair. He looked down at the menu and closed his eyes. He let his finger wander over the page before he jabbed it down. Harry saw his upper lip curl when he opened his eyes.

“What’d you get?” Harry asked him.

“Seaweed salad.” 

“It might not be that bad,” Harry said with a laugh. 

“Now your turn,” Louis said nudging Harry’s menu. “Close your eyes, come on.”

Harry did as he was told and when he opened his eyes his finger was on spicy sweet and sour soup. That actually didn’t sound too bad. He told Louis and was given a groan in return.

“That’s not fair. Let me go again.” Harry didn’t get a chance to respond before Louis closed his eyes and jabbed his finger down once more.

“I’m really hoping you got the kale salad this time,” Harry said resting his head on his hands and smiling at Louis.

“Actually, I got the tofu burrito.” He seemed pleased for a moment until he read the description. “Oh good, it’s gluten free too because it’s wrapped in lettuce.”

Harry couldn’t help it, he let out a loud laugh. He had seen that on the menu, though, and it did look good. He told Louis so.

“Okay, I guess I’ll go with that,” Louis finally agreed. “Just remember our deal.”

“Like I'd forget,” Harry grinned. The waiter came over to take their orders. “One tofu burrito for him and a black bean burger for me. Thanks.”

He waited until the waiter was gone to turn to Louis. “So. Long day at the classified office?”

“Every day is a long day,” Louis shrugged.

“Why do you do it then?” Harry asked, the question heavy on his tongue. Because if Louis was a terrorist, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what had driven him to it. “I mean, you complain about your job all the time. Why not quit then? Do something else? Something you enjoy?”

“Because it's important,” Louis said, taking a sip of his water. “I mean, I'm not that high on the totem pole, mind, but what we do is important. And I like feeling needed.”

Harry nodded, considering his words. Of course he’d give such a vague answer. And of course it wouldn't clear him or condemn him. Because that could mean Louis thought it was important to run a country properly or it could mean he thought they needed to take illegal and lethal measures to achieve their goals, whatever they were. “And you're still not going to tell me what this classified job is, are you?”

Louis grinned at him. “Nope.”

Harry pouted. “I'm starting to think it's something really embarrassing, just so you know.”

“Not embarrassing, no,” Louis laughed. “Besides, I thought you were gonna guess.”

“I thought I was out of guesses.”

“Oh, you are.”

“Mean,” he shook his head. “Completely mean.”

Louis just smiled, sitting back in his chair. “So, how was your day?”

“It was okay,” Harry shrugged, not mentioning the cool pen Zayn had let him try out. By pen, he meant data scrambler.They'd had quite a bit of fun using it on people in the office, Walsh, Winston and Liam in particular. “Boring, same as usual in the world of IT. Mostly just paperwork.” That much was true. Well, that and he'd listened to Louis all day. But of course there was no way he could tell Louis that.

When the food came, Louis gave his stuffed lettuce a few pokes with the fork and he gave Harry a raised eyebrow. “Well here goes nothing.”

Harry waited to try his until after getting Louis’ seal of approval. And when Louis swallowed and gave a slight shrug to his shoulders before taking another bite, he felt like he’d won a game he wasn’t really playing. “What do you think then?” Harry asked, a bit smugly.

“It's no Italian,” Louis said after he swallowed his bite. “But then, nothing really is. So can't really blame it for that, can I? Guess you won't have to make it up to me after all, which is a bit disappointing.”

“Don't worry,” Harry lowered his voice, a small smirk playing on his lips. He reached forward with his foot, intertwining it with Louis’. “I'll still make it up to you.”

He smirked wider when Louis blushed furiously at that before digging into his own food. Yup, he'd definitely won the game. 

\---

Louis wasn't sure there was anything that felt as good as Harry kissing him. He could probably do it all day, surgically attach his lips and hands and tongue to Harry’s, he wouldn’t mind. He couldn't even really be faulted for it. The boy knew how to kiss, very, very well. And it didn't hurt that he was very, very fit. So no one could really blame him when he gasped into Harry's mouth as the taller boy licked into him, pressing him against the door to his flat, the knob digging into his back. Louis could feel Harry's hardness pressing into his hip, his own situation was making his jeans a lot tighter wedged against Harry’s thigh, and fuck, if that didn't turn him on even more. 

He almost didn't even care if his nosy 70-year-old neighbor, Mrs. Waverly, was scandalized when she peeked out of her peephole at them, as she was known to, unfortunately, do so quite often. He was pulled out of thoughts of Mrs. Waverly, thankfully, when he felt Harry's fingers playing with the hem of his shirt, grazing his skin. He needed to feel those hands everywhere.

"I have to get the key," Louis choked out breathlessly as Harry finally released his lips to kiss along his jaw and neck, sucking hard on the skin there. Louis whimpered into him, going slack in his arms. Fuck it, Mrs. Waverly should be grateful for the free show. Maybe he could log it as community outreach.

Harry chuckled against his neck, his hand reaching down into Louis' pocket, grabbing his key for him. Louis could vaguely hear his lock turning, but he was too lost in this, in the feeling of Harry against him, surrounding him. He leaned up on his toes, trying to press himself tighter against him, their hips grinding together as he tugged at those beautiful curls. He could feel the warmth starting in his stomach as his cock brushed against Harry's, even with the two layers of clothes between them. Harry was big, and Louis had a feeling he was going to feel so, so good inside of him. His tongue chased Harry's back into his mouth, deepening the kiss, tugging harder at his hair in anticipation.

"Fuck, Lou," Harry groaned against his lips as his hands reached down to grip his arse, his fingers kneading into his cheeks, key and lock and door long forgotten. He leaned down again, biting at Louis' neck, his tongue soothing the sting as he rubbed his crotch harder against him. "Your arse, fuck, it feels so good, babe."

"Yeah?" Louis smirked, pulling back slightly. "You just gonna grope it all night against my door? Or are we going to take this inside so you can fuck me?"

Harry growled, actually growled against his neck. And the sound shouldn't have made Louis shudder in anticipation the way it did. Yeah, they definitely needed to take this inside. Now. 

He reached behind him to open his door and walked them in easily, Harry more than obliging to follow where Louis led. Or so he thought. He got as far as grabbing his key and closing the door before Harry pressed him against it again. Harry stood towering against him, his hands still on his arse, holding his crotch pressed firmly against his. 

"We're inside," Harry smirked.

"Astounding observation, Harold," Louis rolled his eyes. "Honestly, no wonder you make the big bucks. In fact, Liam should give you a raise."

Harry snickered, nipping at his lips once as he ground his crotch into his intently. "If you're still able to think clearly enough to be such a little shit, I'm not doing a good enough job at this."

Louis pretended to look affronted at that. "I will have you know--."

He was cut off when Harry pressed their lips together again. "Shut up," he said laughing against his lips. He traced Louis' bottom lip with his tongue and slipped it inside when Louis parted his lips. He tugged at his shirt, pulling away slightly to pull it off of him, and toss it aside before kissing him again.

"Bedroom?" He whispered against Louis' lips.

"Yeah, okay, yeah," Louis nodded quickly. Honestly, he didn't care where they were. He just wanted to continue feeling Harry against him. Harry smiled at him as he pulled away with a quick peck on the lips and then one on his cheek before he linked his arms behind Louis’ back and walked him backwards to the bedroom. Louis rested his forehead against Harry's chest and let out a short gasping laugh. 

Once they'd made it through the doorway Harry ran his hands across Louis’ hips to grab him by the belt loops on his trousers and pull him close, their lips connecting hungrily. Louis bit his bottom lip, relishing in the moan it elicited from Harry. 

"So perfect," Harry whispered against his lips, his hands reaching behind him again, grabbing at his arse. Harry pulled him even tighter against him, as if it was possible to get closer than they already were. Louis was surrounded by him, by his body and his heat and his smell, his warmth spreading throughout Louis' body. He ground his crotch against Harry's, trying to relieve some of the pressure. All it did, unfortunately, was make him want even more.

He didn't even notice that Harry had moved them until he felt himself being pressed back against the bed, Harry pushing him down gently by the shoulders to lay back. He didn't understand how Harry could be so focused, he was barely even keeping up for Christ’s sake. It was so much. Harry straddled his hips, grinding down, letting him feel how hard he was. And fuck, that -- it was for him. Louis felt the tingle that had settled in his stomach spread through every nerve in his body when he saw how dark Harry's eyes had become, pupils blown in arousal. He was letting out soft whines and Louis wasn't even sure he was aware of it. He knew he could feel similar breaths escaping from him as well. Even the way Harry was watching his face as he grinded their hips together was becoming too much, the look on his face pure lust. 

“Beautiful,” Harry mumbled, almost to himself as he lightly grazed his finger over Louis’ chest. He leaned down, attaching his lips to his skin, his tongue following the path his fingers laid out for him. Fuck, Louis couldn’t help the moan that escaped his lips when Harry flicked his left nipple with his tongue, his lips closing securely around the nub. Louis had always been sensitive, he had always relished in the feeling of someone playing with his body like this. But Harry, god it wasn’t even fair how good he was at this, at turning Louis on so much with every move. 

The rest of his clothes just seemed to disappear. His belt came whipping off. His trousers were gone before he even realized. He looked up and Harry was standing before him in a pair of tiny black briefs. Louis couldn't believe he'd missed it. 

“Hands and knees, love,” Harry ordered.

Louis scooted up the bed for a drawn out kiss before flipping over onto his stomach, leaning up on his elbows. 

The bed dipped behind him and Harry's hands were on the back of his thighs and ghosting over his pants. In one swift motion he was tugged backwards and down the bed and the pants were gone. Louis pushed forward again, leaning up onto his knees, his cock bobbing heavily between his legs. He knew he'd be dripping onto the bed soon. 

He could feel Harry behind him, feel his gaze, so he arched his back and put himself on display. Louis had always been proud of his assets. 

Harry touched his right cheek first and Louis bit his lip at the warmth that spread all the way up his spine. 

“Fucking incredible,” Harry whispered. Louis let out a small laugh. 

Harry's hand moved along his bum and ghosted over his crack. He leaned into the touch and Harry's hand stilled there. There was a kiss on the middle of his back. “How is it even real?”

He felt a finger trace along, slowly inching down farther. He let out a small groan. “I do squats when I'm stressed.”

Harry let out a snort, but continued to stroke down and catch his rim. Over and over. “You what?”

“At work when I'm stressed,” Louis rushed out. He let out a moan. “Some people pace or eat or whatever - fuck, Harry.” He leaned down onto his elbows when he felt the wet heat of Harry’s tongue on his rim.

Oh God. Harry sucked around his hole, his tongue wet and fluid on his skin. He started shifting his hips back to get closer, pushing his knees farther apart, come on closer. God, how was it fair that Harry was good at this too? Louis didn't even care. It just felt so good as Harry gripped his arse cheeks, spreading him to bury his face deeper, his tongue catching on his rim. Louis struggled to stay lifted on his elbows as the pleasure spread through him. He wanted to be as pushed back as he could, but also he wanted to lean into his duvet, feel the friction against his cock. Harry grabbed his hips to hold him in place as he licked into him, his tongue hard and soft and wet and fluid all at the same time.

“Harry,” Louis moaned, unable to hold it in. It just felt too good. He could feel himself climbing closer and closer to the edge as Harry continued to lick into him, deeper and deeper. He was so close just from Harry’s tongue, but he needed more. He tried to grind against the bed, to seek any friction on his hard cock, but Harry’s grip was tight on his hips. “Please, I need-- please.”

“I got you, babe,” Harry pulled back with a small nibble to his rim, causing Louis to let out another cursing moan. “Have you got any lube?” He mouthed into the small of his back. 

“In the drawer,” Louis said, breathless in his anticipation. “I almost left it out on a little silver platter with one of those white things, you know.”

“A doily?” Harry asked as he leaned over and pulled out the bottle and a condom. 

“Yeah, a doily. It would have been pretty and all but you know, I thought it might be too presumptuous,” Louis said, turning his head and smiling at Harry. He knew he was rambling and yet he couldn't stop himself. He was so close to the edge, so ready for more, he had no control over what was coming out of his mouth. 

“Not so presumptuous though. All things considered.” Harry held up the bottle of lube with a small smirk on his face as he saw it and said, “Brand new?”

“Think of it as a challenge.”

Harry was chuckling when Louis heard the bottle open, and still slightly when it landed softly next to him on the bed. “Any time now,” Louis said a lot more nonchalantly than he felt.

“You never shut up, do you?” Harry said, though Louis could hear the smile on his voice.

Louis’ breath hitched as he felt Harry’s wet fingers press against his rim. “Think of it as a challenge,” he said again.

Harry snickered as he pressed a finger into him. Louis took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax as Harry pumped his finger into him as he leaned over him, kissing along his neck. Louis pressed his face into the bed when he felt a second finger catch against his rim.

“Tell me when you're ready for another,” Harry said, pressing kisses along his shoulder blade.

Louis nodded. “I'm ready.”

Harry pressed another finger into him, curling his fingers. Louis whimpered when his fingertips just grazed his prostate. “There, fuck, Harry, right there,” words just poured out of his mouth. 

He heard Harry snicker a bit, but he was too far gone to pay attention to it when Harry pressed his fingers in again, firmer against his prostate this time, stilling his fingers against the small nub. “Oh, you mean right here?” he said, his tone innocent. As if he didn't know exactly what he was doing to Louis right now. 

Louis pushed his hips back against Harry’s fingers, trying to get more friction. But of course Harry moved his fingers then, just out of reach of where he wanted them most. “I really hate you,” Louis groaned into the pillow.

“You don't,” Harry kissed his neck again as he began pumping his fingers again, rubbing his prostate with each stroke. “Especially when I'm giving you what you need.”

“I need you to fuck me,” Louis scoffed, but then let out a soft whimper when Harry’s fingers pushed back in. He pressed his forehead into the duvet, sticky with sweat. He felt like he was on fire already and they had barely even started. 

Harry snickered. “I can give you that too. Just have to finish prepping you, babe.”

“Hurry up then,” Louis ordered, though there was no real bark to his tone. 

“So bossy,” Harry said as he began scissoring his fingers on every pull. Louis started pushing his body back and moving forward with each movement, his body giving in to the feeling. It felt so good, Harry’s fingers in him, but he needed more. He wanted to be consumed by Harry. 

“Ready for me now, babe?” Harry pulled his fingers out after a few more moments.

“Just fuck me already,” he groaned at the sudden emptiness. He missed Harry’s hands on him. 

Harry laughed quietly and Louis heard him rip the condom wrapper. Harry rolled it on and coated his cock with the lube. Louis tensed when he felt Harry rub his cock over his crack, the tip catching at his rim and smearing lube across his bum. Of course he'd take forever here too, probably trying to tease him to death. And of course it would turn him on even more. How was it even fair?

He didn't get to contemplate that, however, as Harry grabbed his cock and pressed the tip against the rim, slowly pushing in. “Just relax, babe,” Harry said as Louis gasped at the feeling. 

“I am relaxed,” Louis rolled his eyes. “Hurry the fuck up. Or are you trying to kill me with the slow burn?”

Harry pushed all the way in at that in one quick stroke, bottoming out. “I don't know why I put up with you,” he groaned.

“Says the bloke with his cock in my arse,” Louis said, a bit breathless at the feeling. “Move, please.”

“Well, it's an amazing arse,” Harry said as he pulled his hips back and pushed into him again. His hands gripped Louis’ hips as he worked up a rhythm, deep and fast. Louis’ body was finally getting what it wanted, and it felt so good, the feeling of being filled, of Harry hitting all the right places. 

“Harry, oh God,” he moaned as he pressed himself deeper into the bed, trying to get friction on his own cock. He couldn't even hold himself up anymore. 

“I got you, babe,” Harry said, as he held him up, shifting the angle of his strokes. Louis could feel Harry’s fingers digging into his hips. And, fuck.

“Right there, oh God, Harry,” Louis cried out as Harry hit his prostate. He was overcome with the pleasure of it as it spread through him. He was so close to the edge.

“I got you,” Harry repeated as he continued hitting his spot over and over again, his fingers tightening on his hips as he kissed along his shoulder blades. Louis could hear that he was wrecked too, words slurred around the edges more so than usual and voice deep, so impossibly deep. He nearly moaned at the sound of it. “Just let go, babe.”

Louis’ body was on fire, every nerve end in his body just on the brink of eruption. God, he was so close. It felt so good, being consumed by Harry like this. He was just missing something, though he wasn't sure what. That's when Harry started talking and fuck if that didn't do it for him.

“God, you take it so well, Lou,” Harry growled in his ear, placing wet kisses along his neck as he continued to fuck into him, hitting his prostate with every stroke. “I wish you could see, babe. You look so good like this. You feel so good. You're gonna come for me, aren't you?”

Harry reached around him and grabbed his cock, stroking it in time with his hips. And Louis couldn't hold out anymore. He came all over Harry’s hand, his face pressing into the bed as the pleasure took over him. Harry continued stroking him through it, sucking hot kisses onto his back as he focused on reaching his own orgasm. Louis tried to clench around him, trying to help him along when his tremors died down.

“Fuck,” Harry moaned quietly against his skin as he came himself, stilling in Louis. Slowly, Harry pulled out and took the condom off, heading to Louis’ bathroom to throw it out. Louis himself could not move just yet and was very, very grateful that Harry had returned with a wet flannel. He quickly wiped Louis off and tossed the flannel aside before falling into the bed next to him.

Louis smiled at him as he leaned forward to kiss him languidly. Harry smiled into the kiss. “Perfect,” he whispered against his lips.

And God, if that wasn't the exact word running through his own mind right now.

\---

Harry was definitely feeling good as he sat on the tube, heading for work. He smiled to himself, looking down at the coffee cup in his hand, the hand that had held Louis’ when they left his flat this morning to head to the station. If he had kissed Louis a little harder than normal after they'd gotten their coffee and shared a scone, well, no one had to know.

Harry usually didn’t sleep over when he was on the job, and usually, especially as of late, he didn’t seem to have a lot of sex when he wasn’t. So it was different for him to stay, to wake up to Louis’ arms wrapped around his middle. But it wasn’t about him, really, it was about making this real for Louis. His Harry, the Harry he had been seeing, would have stayed the night, and Harry couldn’t help that in reality he enjoyed it as well. 

He got off at his station, and quickly walked into HQ. He bit his lip in the elevator, trying to kill his grin. He had to act professional, after all. 

That, of course, went to shit the second he got to his office and saw Niall sitting at his desk, a large smirk on his face. “Damn, 007, here I thought this was MI6, not a brothel.”

Harry bowed his head slightly, hoping his curls hid the blush was creeping up his neck to his cheeks. “How do you--”

“Know?” Niall finished for him, the smirk still there. “We showed Jeff the bug feed last night. You know, for the bugs you planted in Louis’ flat.”

Harry groaned. “Oh god. So you all--”

“Heard you have what sounded like very talkative sex with a certain brunette? Yup,” Niall drawled as he got up and walked towards the door. “Oh, also, Liam wants to see you.”

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how much trouble am I in?” Harry asked with a wince, as he put his stuff down and followed Niall.

“One definitely,” Niall said after thinking about it for a moment. Harry let out a breath of relief. “If ten means you're not in any trouble and one means you're going to get shot, of course.”

He glared at him. “I hate you.”

“No you don't,” Niall grinned as he opened Liam’s door and moved to let Harry go in first.

But Harry was definitely not feeling good anymore and he was definitely deliberating how far he could get if he ran now. He thought he'd definitely be able to hide at least a few months before Q built something to track him. 

Niall rolled his eyes, his grin never falling as he decided Harry’s fate for him and pushed him into Liam’s office. Harry stumbled forward, groaning. “I definitely hate you.”

“No you don't,” Niall said again.

“007,” Liam glared at him from across the room. Jeff sat across from him. “How nice of you to join us.”

“M,” Harry said sheepishly as he walked forward and sat down next to Jeff across from Liam, ignoring Niall’s smirk. They were all quiet for a moment, just looking at him.

“Styles, you think you could teach me whatever move you did that made your boy squeal like that?” Jeff smirked after a few moments.

“Oh god!” Harry groaned, burying his face in his hands. 

“Yeah, there was a lot of that last night too,” Niall said casually, plopping down on the other side of Jeff, who snickered and high fived him. 

“I had no idea that's how you do it on this side of the pond,” Jeff said. “I might have to put in for a transfer.”

Liam groaned. “Do I really have to pull out the handbook? Or do you know how many rules you broke without it?”

“I mean, I thought the handbook was more of a suggestion book,” Harry said warily. “Kind of like stop signs.”

Niall snorted. “Stop signs are not suggestions, idiot.”

Liam looked just about to ready to murder him, but luckily he didn’t get to threaten to shoot him just yet because the door opened and Q walked in. It only took a single look between them for Harry to know that Zayn had definitely been present to hear his -- nightly activities with Louis. Oh God. Q was going to kill him too. 

Zayn pointedly looked at anything but Harry. “I finished analyzing the bomb remnants.”

“Kind of like how Harry finished analyzing how perfect Louis’ arse is,” Niall added casually. Liam threw his pen at him.

“That was awful, Ni,” Harry groaned, blushing regardless.

Zayn glared at Niall. “As I was saying, it's definitely connected. I'm still going with my original theory. The bomb itself isn't that different than the others. Similar formula, same packaging. But this time it was several car bombs set off at different areas. It still looks like trial and error.”

“So your Prime Minister attacked the United States as a test,” Jeff whistled.

“Not unlike how Harry attacked Louis last night,” Niall supplied.

“Please stop, Niall,” Harry begged.

“Or at least come up with something better,” Zayn scoffed. “That was embarrassing.”

“You try then,” Niall glared at him

“Maybe some comment about the talking,” Jeff said. “Because is it just me or were they really talkative? I mean, who talks that much during sex?”

“That's what I said!” Niall exclaimed.

“Seriously not the time,” Liam said, sighing loudly. He looked at Jeff. “We don't know for sure it’s Simon.”

“But you're pretty sure,” Jeff said.

“As sure as Harry sounded about Louis’ arse last night,” Zayn mumbled just loudly enough for them all to hear. Niall laughed loudly. Harry glowered at them both.

“We really don't have time to talk about Harry’s blatant disregard for the rules,” Liam glared at Harry before he looked at Jeff. “Yes, we're pretty sure.”

“I for one am also pretty sure about Louis having a perfect arse,” Niall added nonchalantly. Harry threw his pen at him too. 

“So what do we do now then?” Jeff asked, leaning back in his chair.

“We need to know 100% before we accuse the Prime Minister of the UK of being a terrorist,” Liam sighed. He rubbed his face, before looking up with a small smirk on his face. “Harry, if you could get more out of Louis than those very loud sex noises, we'd greatly appreciate it, though I'm sure Louis definitely appreciated whatever you did last night.”

Harry flushed as they all laughed. Well, besides Zayn. Apparently, Zayn was okay with joking about it while Liam remained hard. Now he just shot daggers at Liam.

“I would like to say I totally called it on you two being boyfriends,” Niall said. “Just remember I called your best man, and Zayn called Louis’.”

Liam groaned. “I swear to god, Styles, if I get an invitation to a wedding, I am going to shoot you. At the wedding.”

“Don't listen to him,” Niall said. “He's mad that Zayn and I already called best men at the wedding.”

“There is no wedding,” Zayn said shortly. 

“Yet,” Jeff amended sagely.

They all remained quiet at that. That is until Niall opened his mouth again. “Okay, but am I the only one who is slightly surprised and yet not surprised at all that Harry topped?”

Zayn glared at him. Liam looked uncomfortable. Jeff laughed. And Harry tackled Niall.

\---

Well that was embarrassing. Harry couldn’t believe the worst thing he could’ve imagined when planting the bugs was hearing Louis take a shit, when in reality it was literally all of his friends hearing him have sex. And apparently they listened to the whole thing, which he didn't blame them for, but still. 

The situation pulled him down from the high he had been running on when he was on his way into work. And really, it pushed to the forefront a problem he had been steadfastly avoiding. One, he realized, probably a little too late, he should deal with. Because one person in particular had heard him having sex with Louis. The one person of the lot who could probably get away with killing him in about a million different ways.

Which was why he was in the lift heading to the subbasement. When he stepped out, he could see Zayn working on something on the back work bench. He slowly made his way past Q’s team, nodding to both Ashton and Luke on his way by. 

It wasn’t until he was right in front of Zayn’s table that Harry realized Q was working on a gun. That only made Harry slightly more uneasy with the conversation to come.

“Hey Q,” Harry said, rubbing at the back of his neck. Zayn didn't look up. “Can we talk? Somewhere private? And preferably away from anything lethal?”

Zayn looked up from the gun where it appeared he was dismantling the holster and installing God only knew what into the base. He nodded shortly and stood silently, turning to walk into the office. Harry followed him wordlessly, not missing the sympathy glances on both Ashton’s and Luke’s faces. 

When Harry sat down across from Zayn’s desk, he felt a bit like they had come full circle. Over a month ago he had sat here and been given his mission. He had promised to simply be friends with Louis. And okay, he'd cocked that one up a bit. Quite literally this time. 

“I wanted to apologize,” Harry started. “That’s not something you should have had to hear.”

“It was not something I ever wanted to hear,” Zayn said, curling up his lip.

“You guys didn’t have to listen!” And fuck, he knew it was the wrong thing to say even as he said it.

“With the way you’ve been conducting this stupid fucking mission, yeah, we did have to fucking listen to it,” Zayn exploded. “Since you’ve been so reliant on spying on every single part of my best friend’s life, it’s all recorded. Every single aspect of his life, just out there for anyone in this whole fucking team to hear. Why don't we just go play it for the whole office in fact?”

“Why are you so fucking mad atme?” Harry asked, even though he knew. He didn't know why he was pushing this. He should just apologize, hell, grovel even, if it meant Zayn didn't use that new gun on him in his sleep. And well, if it also meant he didn't lose a friend right now. “I’m just doing my job. Just doing what you and Liam told me to do.”

“I didn’t tell you to do this,” Zayn said. “I just asked you to be his friend.”

“It wasn’t going to work, Zayn.” It wasn't. That much was abundantly obvious. Louis wasn't looking for new friends, and he probably didn't need nor want them. “You know it couldn't have worked as friends.”

Zayn sighed. Harry figured that Zayn had known that too. Hell, he might have even been hoping for that. He stayed silent as he watched the anger slowly fall out of Zayn’s face. When he spoke again, it was much softer. “You’re going to break his heart.”

Harry looked down, and fuck if he didn’t already know that. He didn’t need to hear Zayn say it, he could see it all over Louis’ face. Harry knew he tended to get a little slutty in the middle of the job, but usually he didn't play the long game like this and usually no one left it with a broken heart. Sometimes there were broken arms and legs and once, there was a broken penis (long story), but no one had hurt feelings. He didn't usually deal with people's feelings, especially not on missions. He could punch his way out of a fight all day long, but he didn’t enjoy hurting people the way he was going to hurt Louis. It was just easier to shut it all out, and he was okay with that. It had gotten him this far.

And it wasn’t really fair, but none of it was real. It was just a job.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s what we have to do,” Zayn said, resigned. “Everything is fucked up and he’s basically working for a terrorist, so I know. I’ve accepted it, I guess. But I hate to watch it happen.”

“I understand completely,” Harry said. “I just want to make sure we’re good. Don’t tell Liam I said this, but we are a team, Q. And it's just, well, you know how it is. There's so much of our lives that we keep secret and contained. It's not an easy job, this. Sometimes I feel like the only thing keeping me from losing myself to this is you guys, you and Liam and Niall. You guys are more than a team to me. You're my friends. You're my family. You're the only people who know the real me. And I don’t want that to get lost in this mess.”

“It won’t.”

“Good,” he nodded, starting to stand. But then something occurred to him. “Any chance we can keep what I just said about the family and team and all between us and not tell Niall and Liam? I'm pretty sure Niall will just make fun of me and Liam might actually cry that he’s gotten through to us.”

Zayn smirked, crossing his arms and standing up. “Not a chance. Now come on, you can try the gun I just -- modified.”

“Do I even want to know how many laws you stepped around for that one?” Harry grinned as he followed him out.

Zayn paused to consider this. “Probably not.”

Harry laughed. “Excellent. That's my favorite kind. Now,” he rubbed his hands together. “Let's see what it can do.”


	9. Chapter Nine

Louis was a relationship person underneath it all. Sure, he'd have one night stands and he'd fasten armor to his chest and build walls around his heart and mind until he was secure. But who was he kidding? He could try to pretend it wasn't true all he wanted but at the end of the day he had to accept the fact that he, Louis Tomlinson, was a relationship person. 

Especially right now, splayed out in Harry's living room, squeezed between Harry and the back of the couch, Buttercup purring at their feet. He tried to keep pretending it was just the July weather making him feel so warm, but he knew that was bullshit. It was the whole being a relationship person thing.

It made him feel lighter. He liked having someone to send flirty texts to when he was supposed to be rescheduling a rescheduled meeting. He liked that there was someone besides Zayn who told him he was being ridiculous. He liked seeing someone when he got home from work and when he was free on the weekend and even if he just wanted to. There was now someone to squeeze into his morning routine, to fall asleep beside if they'd been up too late exploring each other. 

He felt a little drunk to be honest.

He pressed his nose into the back of Harry's neck and pressed a soft kiss onto the skin there. “Are you free next weekend?”

Harry let out a short hum and leaned into Louis’ hand where it was carding through his curls. “I think so. What'd you have in mind?”

“I actually got some tickets through work for an event,” Louis said. He remembered Ann Marie leaning out the door of the office and tossing them on his desk. You will be in attendance, is that clear?

At least they were VIP tickets and he didn't have to do much working while he was there. Really all he had to do was pay attention while they walked around and no one needed to know he was working. Zayn always disapproved of him doing extra work on the weekend, he'd say they treated him so badly he shouldn't go out of the way, but this wasn't really like work anyway. 

“Do I need to wear a suit?” Harry mumbled. He sounded so close to sleep. Louis pressed another kiss to the back of his neck. 

“Of sorts.” Louis said with a short laugh. 

That made Harry turn his head. He studied him for a moment with his eyebrow quirked and then shrugged his shoulders slightly, as best as he could laying down on the couch. “I'm up for whatever.”

Louis considered making a joke of that, reaching down and touching him. It would be so easy to be laughing into Harry's mouth with their hands all over each other. He let the moment slip by though, too tired from the week at work. They could have fun in the morning, a sleepy Saturday curled around each other. “Yeah, I’ve figured that out about you already, funnily enough,” he said, because he couldn't help it. 

“Does this mean I get to finally see where you work?” Harry asked.

“It's to Comic Con. Don't get your hopes up,” Louis said, rolling his eyes. “I've got enough tickets for the lads as well.”

Harry hummed again, probably so close to sleep he couldn't even form words anymore. No matter. 

“I was thinking we should go all out. Dress up and everything.” Louis paused and couldn't help the smirk that formed. “You should all go as your D&D characters.”

He felt Harry start to laugh, his chest begun to shake and Louis could feel his small puffs of laughter against his arm. Louis continued, whispering into his hair, “I just really want to see Liam dressed up as a magic dick.”

That set Harry off giggling in his arms and God, he was enamored with him. 

“Can you imagine?” Harry said between giggles. “What even is a quantum asshole?”

Louis let go then too, laughing hard against Harry's back. Harry's shoulders started to shake and he let out a loud yelp when he slid off the side of the couch and landed on the floor with a thump, which made them laugh even harder. 

Buttercup let out an annoyed meow and hopped off the end of the couch. She stepped over Harry's feet and sashayed into the bedroom. 

By the time they settled down, Louis’ stomach was sore from laughing and he couldn't help the grin on his face. He leaned over the edge of the couch to look at Harry. “You'll ask them tomorrow at work then?”

Harry looked up at him with big glassy eyes, wet, he thought, from laughing so hard. His cheeks were pink and God damn he was cute. “I'll ask them.”

“Good! Now come back up here.” He reached down to grab Harry's hand and pull him up. 

“Or,” Harry said and gripped his arm, “you could come down here.”

Louis went toppling down onto Harry's chest with an oof and a groan and a few more giggles. He tilted his head up and pressed a series of smiling open mouthed kisses to Harry's lips. Yeah, he wasn't kidding anyone, was he? He was a relationship kind of guy.

\---

“This is really good,” Gemma said for what must have been the 18th time in the past hour, every time she took a bite of her sandwich. “I don't know how you always find these hole in the wall places, but keep it up, little brother. How'd you find this place again?”

Harry smiled at her as he ate his own, though it didn't quite meet his eyes. He couldn't exactly tell her he looked for the most remote places around London he could to make sure they weren't seen by anyone, because then he'd have to tell her why. And that was definitely not a conversation he wanted to have with his sister, ever. Hi Gemma, how are you? I am a spy for MI6 and as such I can't tell anyone about you or mum or Robin in case you get kidnapped and used for leverage against me by the bad guys, and yes I mean actual mad scientist, take over the world bad guys. So instead, he said, “Someone at work mentioned it.”

“Work,” Gemma scoffed. “One of the little old ladies at the bakery frequent here often, does she?” She looked pointedly around at the younger crowd decor of the place.

“Her granddaughter,” Harry said smoothly. After all, he was well versed in lying about that part of his life to his family. He hated it, but it kept them safe. 

“How's the job anyway?” Gemma asked conversationally, though her eyes shifted down fleetingly. “You look tired.”

“It's good, just had an early morning,” Harry said warily. She was obviously up to something. But he was tired. Liam had been driving him up the wall with all these missions. Half of them even weren't pertinent to his case with the PM and Louis. He didn't get it. He thought that was the priority, and yet, he was working overtime on drug lords and mafia men.

“Still like it then?” She asked. “Being a baker all alone in London? You've been at the same shop for a few years now, right?”

And then it hit him. He groaned. “Honestly, if she has a problem with my job, she can tell me herself.”

“You know why she won’t,” Gemma said, rolling her eyes. “She doesn't want to feel like she's pushing you. But she feels like you have more potential than to be a cashier at a bakery. You could do a number of other things, little bro.”

Little did his mother know how right she was. “I like my job, Gem,” he said firmly. Because that part wasn't a lie. “I love it, in fact. It might not be what you guys expected for me, but I enjoy it. It might seem unimportant to you guys, but I feel like I make a difference, and that's enough for me.”

“What difference could you possibly make ringing up donut orders?” Gemma scoffed, but then she sighed. “Look, I get it, I do. But you have to cut mum some slack here, Harry. She's just worried about you. You're alone in London all the time, in the same position you've been in for years. And as much as I like to take the piss with you, you're smart. You can do a lot with your life if you just apply yourself more.”

He just sighed. This was a conversation he had with his family more often than not. And he got it, he did. He had a degree in languages from an excellent university and all they saw was him working away in a bakery, not even baking. It had been easier at first to just complain about the job market, but they were less interested in that excuse as time went on. But he was living up to his potential. He was a spy at MI6, one of the top spies in the agency. What he did did make a difference. He couldn't tell them that, but he could set their minds at ease a bit. “I'm not alone.”

“Your little bff's don't count,” Gemma rolled her eyes. “And neither do your various playthings.”

His cheeks reddened. “That's not what I meant.”

Gemma’s mouth dropped as that hit her. “You're seeing someone? Seriously?”

“I have a boyfriend, yes,” Harry admitted. It wasn't entirely a lie. He was undercover and if he got spotted by someone his family knew at least he had set the groundwork. And if it got Gemma of his back a bit, well, he'd take it. 

“Well, I never thought I'd see this day,” Gemma sat back. “Couple questions. One, what's his name? Two, when can I meet him? And three, what the hell is wrong with him that he's willing to date you?”

Harry glared at her. “His name is Louis, never, and I happen to be an excellent catch, thank you very much.”

Gemma laughed. “Whatever you say, little baker bro, whatever you say.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, their lunches long forgotten. “Now seriously, spill. I want deets. Nothing sexual, mind. I do not need those images of my little brother. But everything else. And don't leave anything out. I cannot wait to report back to mum today.”

Harry rolled his eyes but smiled at his sister. He liked this, being able to share some part of his life with them. He missed them terribly and he hated lying to them, especially his mother. And okay, so technically Louis was a mission, but he was also kind of dating him in a way. He could definitely at least tell them about it, to let them into his life of course, and to stop them from worrying about him so much. It definitely did not have to mean anything that he wanted them to know.

\---

His lunch with Gemma had been a nice reprieve from his normal day to day espionage but surveillance didn't really take time off, so if Louis was still breathing he still had a job to do. 

He sat up in bed leaning against his headboard and pulled the audio recordings from that day up on his tablet. The living room feed was currently blinking red indicating there was current activity. He turned it on and his room filled with noise. 

“-until mum comes back?” Harry heard a girl whine.

“She'll be back when she gets back,” he heard Louis say, followed by a squeal of giggles. 

Was the whole family there? Louis hadn't mentioned that they were coming. Not that he needed to, Harry himself hadn't mentioned meeting with Gemma, but still. There was a reason he didn't bring up Gemma or his family to anyone, namely their security given his line of work. 

“But when can we have ice cream?” He heard a little boy this time, the voice high pitched. Louis had said that some of his siblings were quite young and Niall had informed him that Louis had one brother, a twin, called Ernest. 

“When Mum gets back,” Louis said. “She said she'd text when she's on her way.”

“She said we could go out with your new boyfriend,” a third voice chimed in. 

That had Harry sitting up straighter. So he had told his mum about it even if he hadn't told him about them coming. That had to mean something, didn't it?

“I'm not sure where she got that idea,” Louis said. “He's probably busy, Pheebs.”

“What kind of person is too busy to meet his new boyfriend’s family?” A fourth voice asked, this one similar to the last. He thought these must be the older twins, which would mean this was Daisy. 

“Yeah Lou! I don't know about this one.” It was the third voice again, Pheebs. Phoebe. And excuse them, Harry was an excellent boyfriend! Especially with Louis. And okay, so Harry had never really had a serious relationship before. How could he with the job? But he was definitely good at his job. Hell, his whole mission was to be the perfect boyfriend for him. 

“Darlings, some people work, even on the weekends.”

“We could visit him at work!”

“Yeah!” The first voice chimed in again, Louis smallest sister. Doris, if Niall's recon was to be trusted. Which, of course it was. Niall would probably murder him in his bed if he ever doubted it, even in his mind. Because Niall would know. Somehow, Niall always knew.

“No, no, he's probably very busy.” Harry thought he heard a bit of desperation in Louis’ voice. Which was interesting. 

“At least ask him!” Daisy chimed in again. 

“Alright, alright. Calm down.” Harry heard a slight rustling, which he presumed was Louis getting his phone out. A few moments passed and then, “Okay, I texted him. We’ll see.”

Harry looked down at his phone and it didn't light up. He waited another minute, then two. The Tomlinsons kept chatting on the feed, but Harry was a little worried there was something wrong with his mobile connection. He turned it off and turned it back on again. Still nothing. 

Harry let out a huff and went back to the tablet. He switched from the audio feeds to the cell phone monitoring screen. Harry clicked to view text messages. The latest outgoing was to Zayn. It simply said, I hate you. 

The timestamp was just a few minutes ago. This was the text Louis sent instead of texting him. 

Which, rude. 

That was fine, though. Louis didn't need to actually text him. So he didn't want Harry to meet his family. That was fine, probably good even. 

But why didn't he like Harry enough to introduce him to his mum? And his siblings! Harry was great with kids! Mums always loved him!

Not in that way. (Sometimes in that way). 

He just, he thought things were going well? He thought Louis was really into him. Maybe he was misinterpreting things?

So he waited and he listened. He sat in his bed as the light dimmed outside. Until Louis’ Mum came back and until they all left again, a quiet cheer of “Ice Cream!” from little Ernie. 

He left the dead air to play while he fixed himself some dinner and Buttercup twined between his legs hoping for something to fall. 

And it didn’t bother him at all. 

He was slouched on the couch watching Come Dine With Me. The tablet was next to him, plugged in because he’d drained the battery, but he wasn’t ready to put it away yet. Buttercup was laying half on it, soaking up any little bit of warmth it let off. Jeremy from Yorkshire was on screen complaining that Carol and Andrew didn’t take his theme seriously. Harry was with them, why the fuck did he have a shell bra on?

He heard a small, tinny noise that sounded like a door closing. He looked at the tablet warily. He may have had a few close calls, a few times where he had thought Louis was back, but he was hearing someone else in his building or his brain was making sounds up entirely. 

But then he heard feet shuffling. He thought he heard the rattling of the refrigerator. Someone let out a loud sigh. Harry reached down and turned the audio up. He wished he’d installed video.

He heard the shower start to run and Louis singing softly once he was in it. Now he really wished there was video, and this time it wasn’t for the mission. Louis was hot, he had no shame in admitting that.

Louis got out when Carol burnt her bread pudding. He missed whatever nasty comment Sharon was making because he was trying to hear what Louis was muttering under his breath, but he couldn’t pick it up. The volume was already up all the way, damn.

He strained to hear for a minute and then his phone started to ring. The theme for Mission Impossible started to blare through the room. It took him a moment to realize it was his phone. Niall. He never left his phone unattended, but Niall always managed to change his ringtone. It was so bloody annoying.

He looked at the screen, fucking finally. “Hello?”

“Hey, babe,” Louis said. He could hear it coming through his tablets speakers as well, echoing just behind. He pushed to turn it off.

“Hi, Lou,” Harry said. “How was your day?”

“It was,” he paused. Harry wondered if he was about to be lied to. “It was pretty good actually.”

“Yeah? That's good. What's up?”

“I was just calling,” He paused again. Was he nervous? Was he going to break up with him on the phone because he realized that if he couldn’t introduce someone to his Mum then what even was the point? No. No, that was ridiculous. Harry was being ridiculous. Where did this weak shit come from? “I was just calling because I thought maybe you could come over for a bit? I feel like it’s been too long since I’ve gotten a kiss and that’s blasphemous. Blasphemous, I tell you!”

Harry let out a chuckle. So maybe he overreacted a little. He was about to say yes, ready to run over there and figure out what was up, but he stopped. Louis’ place was bugged and he forgot that in probably the most uncomfortable way last time. New plan then. “What if you came here? Buttercup misses you, I think.”

“Yeah.” Harry heard shuffling. He imagined Louis must be getting dressed quickly. “Yeah, I can do that. Give me like five minutes.”

Harry did not wait by the door. He did not. It wasn't his fault that the chair in his living room faced the door and it wasn’t his fault that his tablet tracked Louis’ GPS coordinates. It was part of his job. So he couldn’t be blamed for being right there, ready, when Louis rang the bell. 

He pulled the door open and on the other side was Louis in sweats. He looked so soft in his ratty t-shirt and his hair dripping onto his shoulder. Harry thought Louis was about to pounce on him. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Harry was expecting the impact of lips crashing into his, hands pushing up his shirt, grazing his belly. He was even sort of looking forward to it. 

He did end up with an arm full of Louis, just not in the way he had thought. Louis stepped forward and hugged him around the middle, squeezing a bit, tucking his head under Harry’s chin. That was different, not what he had expected. It was intimate in a way that Harry had been on the edge of taking part in, drawing lines between what was okay and what wasn’t. It was new territory for him and hugging, well, hugging hadn’t been on the list yet. But, he guessed it was now. He had to be the perfect boyfriend, didn't he? For the mission.

He wrapped his arms around Louis’ shoulders and pulled him inside and closed the door behind him. 

“What’s wrong, love?” Harry murmured into his hair. 

“I did something dumb today,” Louis said into his chest. He leaned back to look up at Harry and Harry couldn’t help it, he went a little cold, like someone had thrown water on him. It couldn’t have been that bad, Harry had been listening to him most of the day. He wasn't sure what had happened when Louis went to get ice cream with his family. Damn it, that was a big blind spot in his surveillance that he'd have to fix soon.

“Did you set the kitchen on fire again?” Harry said, forcing himself to make a joke. 

“I can’t believe Zayn told you about that, he’s such a little traitor,” Louis said. He took a deep breath, Harry could feel it where their chests were pressed together. “Actually, this is kind of Zayn’s fault too. So maybe we should just blame him really.”

Harry quirked an eyebrow. He remembered the text to Zayn.

“My family came to visit today. My sister Fizzy had a thing for her uni and they spent the day with me,” Louis continued. “Zayn apparently told his mum about you, and his mum told my mum about you and she kept asking to meet the new man in my life and I just, I didn’t know what to say?”

Harry pressed a kiss to his forehead. “What do you mean?”

“We just haven’t talked about things, I guess? It hasn’t been that long, I didn’t know like… Where we were?” Louis said. He pressed his forehead to Harry’s chest. “Like, are we boyfriends?”

Oh. Okay. Harry got it now. Louis was afraid. He didn’t seem like the type. He seemed so ready to just go, all the time. Okay, interesting.

“I mean,” Harry said, playing the nervous, stammering role as well. “I thought we were. Did you not think we were?”

“No! I did. I just, I wasn’t sure.” Louis said. He looked up and smiled at Harry, little crinkles appearing next to his eyes. “So, boyfriends, eh?” 

Louis tightened his grip on Harry and started walking them back into Harry’s flat. Harry let him lead this time, pliantly letting Louis take control. He swooped down and started peppering kisses down the side of Louis’ face which caused the other man to let out a few short laughs, bumping Harry into the wall and narrowly missing the kitchen counter.

“Okay, enough of that.” Harry swung them around, pulling Louis up off the ground a few inches with a yelp and a Put me down, you ogre! He walked them quickly through the apartment. He tripped over the rug in the bedroom, falling slightly and landing on top of Louis, pressing him into the bed.

He could feel Louis laughing, hot breaths against his neck. He was squirming underneath Harry, giggling, tickling Harry’s chin with his damp hair. Harry could feel his blood start to heat up. Louis turned his face, his lips grazing Harry’s. Harry looked in his eyes for a moment and they were still so blue, the first thing he even really noticed from the photo Zayn gave him. So blue and looking at him, waiting for Harry to kiss him. Gone was the nervous boy who showed up at his apartment, the scared boy who didn’t know what to tell his family. He looked relaxed. Happy. 

Harry pressed his lips to Louis and felt him sigh against them and push his own lips back. They kissed softly for a few minutes, gentle, and easy. Just barely there touches of tongues on lips. 

And then Louis sucked Harry’s bottom lip between his own, lightly biting it. Harry held in a growl and pushed forward, pressing Louis deeper into the mattress. He slipped his tongue in to caress Louis’, and slipped his hands up under his shirt, touching his stomach. He felt a goosebumps rise under his fingertips and nipped at Louis’ lips.

He felt hands on his shoulders and rubbing down his back. Fingers entwined in his hair, pulling his hair, making him groan against Louis’ lips. Harry tweaked Louis’ nipples, pulled them, thought, fleetingly, of getting his lips around them, his teeth on them. He started pushing the shirt up and bunched it under Louis’ armpits. 

Harry was mouthing at his chest, sucking open mouthed kisses to his ribs, thriving off the little puffing moans Louis was letting out. Fingers were buried in his hair, scratching at his scalp and pulling lightly at his hair and he knew he was letting out little moans as well. 

He was so hard in his jeans. He could feel Louis against his thigh and he wanted to get his mouth on him. 

He kissed up his chest, biting at Louis’ nipples on his way, licking around them. Louis was so responsive it was going to kill him, the little moans, the air catching in his throat. The way his nipples hardened when he first touched them and stood attentive while he played with them.

“Come on babe, let’s get this off,” Harry rasped, pulling at Louis’ shirt. 

Louis stuck his fingers under Harry’s shirt and said, “You too.” 

Harry leaned back and pulled it off. He knew he must look a wreck with his hair everywhere and his lips rubbed red. He could tell from how glassy Louis’ eyes went, his bottom lip sucked between his teeth. 

It was probably good they were so sexually compatible, for the job of course.

Louis’ fingers were running along Harry’s stomach, ghosting over his abs and slipping around the top of his jeans. He leaned forward, meeting Harry where he was still sitting up slightly, and pressed a hard kiss to his lips. Harry could feel Louis’ hands rubbing on his jeans. He could feel when Louis undid the button of his trousers. Louis’ mouth moved from his lips to his neck. He sucked lightly right under his jaw and Harry felt it all the way to his toes. A long moan slipped through his lips and Louis’ hand slipped into his pants. 

He sucked in a sharp breath and reached up to grip Louis’ face in his hands, moving his lips to press against his own as Louis’ hand stroked him. He ran his fingers through Louis’ hair, still a bit wet from his shower earlier. 

Louis reached up and flipped them over on the bed, inching up to sit in Harry’s lap, his arm twisting to get inside Harry’s underwear and keep tugging on his cock. 

Louis pulled back from the kiss and Harry was a little dizzy. He lay back on the bed and Louis began tugging on his jeans. He scooted down and climbed off the bed.

“Why are these so bloody tight?” Louis cursed.

Harry grinned at the ceiling, letting out a small laugh. Louis was still tugging his jeans over his knees. “You’re one to talk. I’ve seen your arse jeans. Practically painted on.”

Louis let out a huff. “Not tonight. I came prepared, obviously.”

“I thought you were just coming for a chat,” Harry said leaning up on his elbow to smirk at Louis. “To give Buttercup a cheeky pet.”

Louis finally got both of Harry’s legs free and threw the jeans on the floor. He quickly shucked his own sweats off. He climbed back up, sitting on Harry’s thighs again. “Mm, a cheeky pet, you say?”

He ran a finger up the length of Harry’s cock through his pants, rubbing a bit at the base. “Maybe I should go find her then,” Louis said, smirking down at Harry.

Harry sat up, wrapping his arms around Louis middle, gripping his arse. “I think you’re a little busy here,” he said against Louis’ lips. Harry kissed him hard, running his tongue along Louis’ bottom lip and massaging his bum. He could feel Louis’ cock rub against his own when Louis would rock into his hands. 

He quirked his thumbs up and pulled down the back of Louis’ pants, scratching lightly against his lower back. 

“Off, Lou,” Harry said into his lips. He could feel Louis nodding, but his tongue was still caressing Harry’s and his hands were still tangled in his hair. 

Harry pulled back and leaned his forehead against Louis’. He took a few breaths. He squeezed Louis’ bum again, pressed his cheeks in and massaged them. “I want these off,” he rasped.

Louis let out a moan and leaned into his hands before pushing back onto his feet and standing up unsteadily on the bed. When he was stood his clothed cock was right in Harry’s eyeline. He could just reach up and touch, or lean forward and mouth at it through the fabric.

Louis placed a hand on top of Harry’s head and pushed his pants down with the other. He let out a little yelp when he almost tilted over while lifting his left leg up. When he’d gotten them off and thrown onto the floor his cock was right there in front of Harry’s face and Louis hand was still on his head. Harry nearly let out a moan at the thought of it. He reached his hands up and braced them on the back of Louis’ thighs. He heard a choked sound from above him. 

“Louis?” He said, his voice low as he brought a hand forward to swipe his thumb along the tip.

Louis gasped, his fingers gripping Harry’s hair. “Hmm?”

“I'm going to blow your mind.”

Louis froze for a second before he rolled his eyes. “That was so lame. I think I changed my mind about being boyfriends.”

Harry leaned forward and licked the tip, smirking slightly. “Yeah?”

“Y-yeah,” Louis stammered out as Harry took his hard cock into his mouth, letting his tongue run along the underside of it. “Definitely changed my mind.”

Harry let his cock pop out of his mouth. “Okay, if you're sure.” He licked at his slit before taking it back into his mouth. He started slowly, looking up at Louis as he took him deeper and deeper into his mouth until his nose touched his groin.

“Fuck, okay I'm just kidding, we can still be boyfriends,” Louis watched him in awe.

Harry hummed around him, making Louis gasp before he started bobbing his head on Louis’ cock, letting it hit the back of his throat. Louis started moaning quietly above him, his fingers lightly massaging at his scalp. 

“Harry,” Louis whimpered as Harry started sucking faster, his hands kneading Louis’ arse and pulling him towards Harry. 

Harry could feel his cock straining against his briefs, begging for relief. But this was about Louis, his boyfriend. He hollowed his cheeks and hummed softly around him, which made Louis grip his hair, hard. Harry smirked slightly. 

He brought one hand around to massage Louis’ balls, playing with them in his grip. Louis shivered against him. “Fuck, that's just - yeah, that's nice,” Louis moaned.

Harry released his cock from his mouth with a pop and smiled up at him. He brought his other hand around to wrap around Louis’ cock, tugging at it. “Yeah?”

“How are you so good at this too?” Louis had his eyes closed.

“I like making you feel good,” Harry smirked slightly. He leaned forward again and took Louis back into his mouth. This time he wasted no time, starting off fast and deep, his head bobbing on his cock. He could taste the saltiness on his tongue and God, it was turning him on even more, seeing Louis so close like this. 

“Harry, I'm gonna, fuck, you should probably,” Louis opened his eyes and looked down at him, the hand that was gripping his hair gently pushing away at him.

But Harry kept going, pulling off only slightly to suck at the head, his tongue running mercilessly over the slit while his hand gripped the base of Louis’ cock, jerking him off. That seemed to be enough for Louis to fall over the edge, and he came in Harry’s mouth, the saltiness hot on his tongue. Harry pulled off him slowly, and smiled at him, licking his lips. “I could make a joke about blowing your mind, but I don't want you to change your mind again.”

Louis shook his head, a bit of a dazed look on his face as he leaned down and kissed him, probably tasting himself on his lips. “I think I'll keep you yet. Now,” he said, pushing Harry back onto the bed and pulling his pants down. “How about I return the favor, boyfriend?”

Harry smiled and lay back, spreading his legs slightly. “Okay, boyfriend.”

He was finding himself more and more glad that he had asked Louis to come here instead of meeting at his bugged flat. He definitely did not want the lads to hear this.

\---

“I still say we extract her,” Harry said, taking a sip of his coffee, coffee that Niall had technically been sent to get solely for Liam but had also brought back cups for Harry and Zayn too. Bless him. It made their update meetings about the Prime Minister terrorist case a lot easier to bear, seeing as they hadn't made much progress. Still, he was absolutely 100% against Jesy trying to poach his case. “She hasn't been any help.”

“She's been establishing her cover, Haz,” Liam rolled his eyes. “Just like you had to. Give her some time. Besides, she reported in this morning that she's going to take Louis to lunch tomorrow, see if she can find anything out.”

“If Louis is part of it, I doubt he'd gossip about it to the new girl,” Harry grumbled. Zayn looked pointedly away. He'd taken recently to just ignoring them when they accused Louis of being a terrorist. 

“But he might let something slip,” Liam sighed, rubbing his eyes. He looked exhausted, though he usually did these days. Came with the job, it seemed. “Something he wouldn't think is important but could give us the proof we need to directly investigate the PM. And she is in the office. What she could learn in there is invaluable. Her mission goes beyond Louis. Speaking of, has Louis let anything slip to you?”

“Not yet,” Harry admitted. “I've been listening to his dealings daily, nothing so far. And I've been trying to ask suggestive questions. But he's giving me nothing yet.”

“Because he's not a terrorist,” Zayn chimed in. Okay, so he didn't always ignore the accusations. Niall elbowed him. 

“Speaking of Louis though,” Harry said conversationally, completely ignoring Zayn. “He got tickets from work to Comic Con, and he invited you lot to come with us. And before you say no, Liam, I think it would be a good recon mission, see him outside of the work and bar setting. You guys can get your take on him too.”

“Absolutely not,” Liam shook his head, though Niall and Zayn exchanged gleeful looks. “That is so inappropriate, I wouldn't even know where to begin. The number of rules that would break, honestly.”

“But he invited us,” Harry said. “It would look suspicious not to go.”

“And it's Comic Con,” Niall added. “I tried to get tickets meself, but they were sold out. How'd he swing it?”

“They're from work,” Harry looked pointedly at Liam. “It could be a lead.”

Liam stared blankly back at him. “I highly doubt that.”

“And it'll be fun,” Niall said. Harry nodded. “I think I can pull off The Hulk, maybe douse myself in green paint.”

“We are not going,” Liam glared at him. Honestly, why was he getting glared at? He didn't even say it. 

“I call Quicksilver,” Zayn said, ignoring Liam.

Harry high fived him with a, “Nice.”

“Absolutely not,” Liam tried again. But Harry could see his resolve fading. Harry tried not to smirk outwardly. 

“What do you have against Quicksilver, Liam?” Niall demanded. 

“The Flash is fas-- you know what, never mind. That's not the point. We are not going.”

“Yes we are,” Harry said, exchanging a look with the other two. “We are going, because Louis asked and he's my, no he's our mission right now. National security is on the line, Liam, global security.”

“Also, costumes,” Zayn added casually. Harry grinned at him. 

“Plus,” Niall said. “You can totally go as Director Fury, Liam, our fearless one-eyed leader. I think the patch would look good on you. Think of the ladies you'd bag.”

Liam’s lips twitched. “If anything, I'm Iron Man, first of all.” There was a collective eye roll at that, but they kept silent because they knew what was coming. “And secondly, fine, we can go, but if anything happens, I'm going to shoot you.”

“Deal. Now if you'll excuse me, gentleman, I have a potentially harmful PA to listen to,” Harry grinned, standing up to leave. That went exactly as he thought it would: Liam complaining about the handbook, then being reminded about how much he loved superheroes and comic books and finally, defeat. Or acceptance, whatever.

He didn't miss the “Innocent Ministerial Diary Secretary,” Zayn grumbled on his way out.

 

\----

On Thursday, Jesy asked Louis if he'd like to grab lunch. Well, actually she had come up to his desk just a few minutes after Cowell and Ann Marie left to go have lunch with all of the personal secretaries and said, “Let's get lunch, loser.”

So they walked to the pie shop a few streets over and settled down at the bar against the window. 

“So how are you liking working at number 10?” Louis asked her. He took a bite of his pasty. She'd been there for a couple weeks so far, but other than seeing her pop through a couple times with biscuits and a pot of tea, their paths didn't cross as much as he'd like. She was cool, unlike most of the mindless drones employed at 10 Downing.

“Oh, it's pretty good!” Jesy said, smiling at him. “There's still so many people all the time coming in and out, I feel like I'm barely keeping up. How do you manage to remember everyone?”

“It's not too bad, you just have to get used to it.”

“You mean there's no tricks?” She said dramatically, dropping her head down close to the table. “I'm doomed!”

“It’s not that bad,” he patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“It honestly is. I feel like every time I see Simon Cowell, there’s a different buff guy following him around.”

“That’s not true,” Louis said. “They just all look the same.”

“Are you sure? I could have sworn last week there was a redhead, but now they are all brunettes.”

Louis had to think for a moment. And maybe she was actually right about that. Carl had been the redhead and he hadn’t seen him at all this week. Not that it meant anything. He could just be on holiday or something.

He was still thinking when Jesy continued. “Also, what happened to that guy with the, you know,” She waved her hand in front of her face. “The mangled nose and what not? He was around all the time, but I could never figure out where he worked.”

“I don’t even know who that is,” Louis said.

She waved her hand, “Doesn’t matter anymore, does it? He’s gone too.”

“The PM cycles through a lot of his staff to keep fresh faces around,” Louis said.

“With the rate they seem to be going now, I’m afraid for my job and I’ve only been here for a few weeks!” She exclaimed. “How you’ve managed for so long, I’ve got no idea.”

That made Louis frown. Jesy wasn’t wrong of course. He was probably the longest standing person on Cowell’s personal staff. He liked to think of himself of indispensable, but that might not be true. Especially recently. And Jesy was also right that there had been a lot of movement in staffing. He hadn’t really noticed, but now that she mentioned it, a lot of the familiar faces were gone and he had no idea when it even happened.

“I don’t think he trusts anyone enough to keep them around,” Louis said. “Aside from Ann Marie.”

“Ann Marie. She honestly terrifies me,” Jesy said with a shiver.

“It’s the cold stare.” Louis laughed at that, envisioning how he was usually on the receiving end of her icy looks.

“And that she never asks, she demands,” Jesy said. “Which I usually admire in a woman, but she asks for tea like she’s demanding your resignation.”

“She’s special like that,” he said with a laugh. “But hey, sometimes she does nice things for you, accidentally. She gave me Comic Con tickets for this weekend, enough for all the lads as well.”

“She gave them to you for free? You sure she didn’t dock your pay the cost of the tickets?”

“I mean, I have to do a little bit of work while I’m there,” he said with a shrug. “Scout it out a bit for a future event. They don’t trust reports, they want first hand accounts of how they handle crowds and how competent the security is, stuff like that.”

“I guess there are some perks of working under her then,” Jesy said with a smile. 

And maybe that shouldn’t make Louis feel so bitter, but, well, it did. 

\---

The first thing Harry noticed was Zayn’s hair. 

They were on the steps leading up to the ExCel center and it was swarmed with people. They had only been there for a few minutes, him and Louis walking hand in hand from his flat up the street, but they'd already seen some truly wild costumes. 

Still, nothing could have really prepared him for Zayn's hair. 

“That's, uh, a sick look, mate,” Harry said. 

Zayn leveled him with a stare.

“Where'd you find all that temporary gray hair dye?” Louis asked reaching up to touch it. Zayn slapped his hand away.

“It's silver,” Zayn said with a sniff. “And what do you mean temporary? I committed, Louis.”

“...You mean you dyed your hair gray? For like, ever?” Harry asked. 

“It's silver,” Niall piped in. 

“I can always shave it off if I don't like it,” Zayn said with a shrug. 

Harry looked over to Louis whose jaw was dropped almost comically. “Your beautiful hair!” He screamed dramatically. “How could you!”

“I think it looks good,” Niall said. He reached up to touch it and Harry could see Louis give a small pout when Niall wasn't swatted away like he had been. 

“While this has been riveting,” Harry said, his eyes still glued to Zayn’s hair, “we should go get in line. Where'd Liam go?”

“Oh, he was getting stopped for pictures the whole way from the train. Wait till you see him. His costume is sick,” Zayn said. 

“He's going to pretend it's nothing,” Niall said. “But you know Liam. Hardass Boss on the outside, squishy and dedicated nerd on the inside.”

Sure enough, Harry could see the red Ironman suit finally making its way down the steps towards them. It looked so uncomfortable, he couldn't believe that Liam could walk in it. 

He'd gotten lucky that his Black Widow costume was mostly just leather leggings and a leather top, two things he'd already owned. Louis had sprayed a red temporary dye into his hair that morning. Louis’ Hawkeye costume was a mismatched collection of Harry's leather jeggings and an Adidas jacket with a child's toy arrow set from Poundland. He'd practiced his Jeremy Renner facial expressions in the mirror while Harry squeezed into his trousers. 

They had meant to leave the flat fifteen minutes earlier, but all of the skin tight leather had led to quick handjobs pressed against the door, breathing heavy into each other's necks. It had been a good morning. 

When Liam stopped next to them, he could hear the knee joints on the suit snap into place. Was this one of the perks of being the head of an international spy organization? You got badass suits to pretend you were Tony Stark?

Liam nodded to them all, but he seemed to be stuck on Niall a bit. “That's a lot of green paint.”

“Oh yeah,” Niall said, rubbing his chest a bit where it was exposed and painted a bright green. 

“How far down did you go?” Louis asked, looking at Niall’s green legs. 

“All over, obviously,” Niall said. “Zayn helped me.”

Harry's eyes met Louis’ and they both scrunched their noses up. Gross. 

“Doesn't it itch?” Liam asked. 

“Not yet,” Niall said with a big grin. 

On that pleasant note, Louis began pulling him towards the building. It was a long walk down the length of it, surrounded by people cosplaying everything from Pokemon to a group in full steampunk garb standing by the entrance. Harry also swore he saw someone dressed in light wash bell bottom jeans and a white t-shirt he thought was emulating Prime Minister Cowell’s ridiculous casual wear. 

They breezed past the long winding line to a shorter VIP line where they only stood waiting for ten minutes. Liam was behind him, but he could hear little squeaks as he shifted with excited energy. 

Harry leaned down town whisper to Louis, “I think we've found Liam's happy place.”

Louis made a small snort, but he didn't seem to be paying attention. He was staring straight ahead watching the people file through security and go through the metal detectors.

“Would this be a bad time to tell you I've got a stainless steel butt plug in?” Harry whispered again. He heard Liam make a quiet gagging sound behind him, but Louis didn't even really react. Interesting.

“This is a public place with children,” Liam hissed at him.

“They have to learn sometime,” Niall winked.

“Also, I'm just saying, Liam, if I push you down right now, I don't think you're going to be getting up anytime soon, so shut it,” Harry added casually, his eyes glued on Louis, Louis who wasn't even paying attention to them. Liam grumbled under his breath, though Harry did catch the words shoot, and paperwork. Yeah, that didn't sound good for him.

By the time they had shuffled inside, Louis had perked up a bit. They spent the rest of the day squeezing through large groups of people and eating greasy food from the concessions. Harry took a photo with four other black widows, posed in the middle because he was the only man. It was hilarious and fun. 

They lost Louis for nearly half an hour and when he came stumbling back with a bag of merchandise, he blamed the artist section in the back for having a whole series of Spiderman shots he couldn’t resist. 

Liam waited in line for forty five minutes to get a photo with one of the actors from a Marvel TV show and they all stood in the crowd to hear a panel on the upcoming Star Wars film. Niall started complaining about the paint about 30 minutes into the day, which was funny for Harry, but earned him a glare from Zayn every time he laughed about it with Louis.

Six hours later, they stumbled outside a little bleary eyed. “This was fun, thanks for the tickets, Louis,” Liam said, always polite.

“Don't mention it,” Louis smiled. “It was a work thing anyway.” He turned to Niall. “You might want to go wash that off before you start puking green.”

He didn't notice the look Liam and Harry exchanged as Niall started scratching again, nodding. The look was enough to confirm it for Harry. Liam may have seemed like he was 100% into the scenery, but he was ever the leader of spies, and so he had noticed it too. Something wasn't quite right here. The question now was: what?


	10. Chapter Ten

Louis had been asleep for exactly thirty minutes when Harry slipped out of bed. It had been three weeks since they’d started sleeping together, but in that time he hadn’t had a proper chance to search Louis’ flat. He knew he could just break in during the day, he was excellent at picking a lock. And disabling alarms. Even avoiding getting shot at while doing it, even though usually it was Liam doing the shooting while Harry was breaking into his house. But, whatever.

He was hesitating about breaking into Louis’ flat though. It probably wouldn’t take long, the locks didn’t look too intense and there was no alarm system (which seemed dumb to him considering Louis literally knew where the Prime Minister was going to be at all times). 

It was kind of about Mrs. Waverly. The old lady who lived across the hall from Louis. He’d done a little reading up on her after Louis received a note under his door the morning after their first night together kindly asking him to never repeat those kind of antics in the hall again, signed by her with a flourish. Louis had snorted and used it to wipe up the spot where his tea had spilled, but she made Harry a little uneasy. There was no criminal record, so it was highly probable she was just overly nosy.

Which meant there was a good chance she would see him in the 45 seconds it would take him to open Louis’ lock. Being caught doing that was something he couldn’t really risk. Fucking Mrs. Waverly. 

So, here Harry was, in the middle of the night tiptoeing through his flat searching for Louis’ jeans. He found them wedged between the bathroom door and the wall, crumpled into a ball. He let out a sigh and started pulling the legs out and straightening them. If Louis asked he’d say he’d tripped over them in the night. In the left hand pocket was Louis’ keys. 

He pressed the key for Louis’ flat onto the reader Zayn had created. It scanned the key to make an exact copy, including all etchings and wear. It fit in the palm of his hand and would be finished forming the key in just a few minutes. 

Harry closed the door to the bathroom and pulled himself up onto the counter next to the sink while he waited. By having the key he'd be through the door in seconds and if Mrs. Waverly asked questions he could show her the key. 

While he was up there, he folded Louis’ t-shirt that was laying next to him in a pile. Honestly, Louis was a bit of a mess and Harry knew he shouldn't be cleaning up after him, but he found it relaxing. It was a small moment he could lose himself in. 

A small light on the end of the reader went green when the key was finished. He stuck the keys back in Louis pocket and placed his jeans under the shirt on the counter. He left the bathroom and carefully walked through the bedroom where Louis was still sleeping heavily and went through to the kitchen. He pulled a sharpie out of a drawer and labelled the key with a G. He put the key on his own ring. 

If Louis by chance noticed and asked, it was for Gemma’s apartment. If Mrs. Waverly asked, it was the guest key. 

Harry padded quietly back into the bedroom and slipped into the bed. He placed an arm around Louis’ middle and pressed himself against his back. Louis let out a small hum in his sleep and Harry felt him leaning into his warmth. All things considered, he was getting really good at this whole cuddling thing. 

\---

“You’re actually on time,” Niall stared at him for a long time as he settled in next to him. “What did you do? Is Liam going to shoot you for it? And can I watch?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Thank you, Niall, for your utter lack of faith. But I can actually be punctual from time to time, believe it or not.”

“Yeah, when you’re already in enough shit with Liam as it is that you being late might actually end with you being shot,” Zayn said.

“That’s not the only time I’m on time,” Harry grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Yes it is,” they said in unison.

“Seriously, Liam hasn’t even arrived yet,” Niall still just looked shocked. “And you’re here. You’re not going to sneak in half way, thinking he didn’t see you. Which he does, every time.”

“I do not,” Harry insisted indignantly.

The door opened to the conference room and Liam came in. He froze when he saw Harry sitting next to Niall. Only for a second though, before his eyes narrowed at him. “What did you do?”

Niall laughed. “I’d like to hear this too.”

“Nothing!” Harry threw his hands up. “Some friends you are.”

“I swear to God, Styles, if I find out --”

“I didn’t do anything, I swear!” Harry interrupted him loudly. “Can we move on, please? Don't you have a teamwork speech to give, M?”

“Actually on time, 007?” Winston commented when Liam walked away, still shaking his head. Great, because this was what he needed right now. “What happened? M realized his nepotism towards you lot was going to get him in trouble?”

“Actually, I was just with your wife, Winston,” Harry retorted. “She sent me off a bit early today, something about a different client coming in?”

Niall laughed and Zayn smirked. But Winston looked murderous, ready to pounce. Walsh put his hand on Winston’s arm, whispering to him quickly which seemed to settle him down. Harry was actually a bit disappointed. He could definitely take Winston in any form of fighting, and the two were just begging to have their arses kicked as far as he was concerned. “Maybe keep your pitbull on his lead next time, Walsh,” Harry said nonchalantly.

They glared at him and turned around as Liam called the meeting to order. 

“You shouldn’t bait them,” Niall said quietly, his eyes on Liam. “It’s making things harder for Liam.”

Harry sighed. He knew it too. But he couldn’t help himself sometimes with those two. “They were asking for it, and you know it, Niall,” he mumbled back softly.

“Oh I know, but I’m just saying,” Niall shrugged subtly. “Now shut up and pay attention, I’m not going to recap the meeting for you, since you’re here for the whole thing for the first time ever.”

“That’s okay, I’ll just listen in when you recap it for Q,” Harry smirked, looking over at Zayn who had somehow fallen asleep already.

For the rest of the meeting, Harry doodled on his itinerary paper after he wondered aloud when they had started getting these in these meetings, to which he got a few laughs throughout the room and two dirty looks from Walsh and Winston unsurprisingly, and found out they’d been given out since the beginning. Huh, you learned something new every day. He also tried to get Niall to play hangman with him, but stopped asking after Niall kicked him hard in the shin under the table, and then spent the rest of the time ripping up said itinerary and throwing the wads at the back of Winston’s head. Overall, he deemed the meeting a success in his books. Sure, he had no idea what Liam had talked about, but he had heard the words teamwork and group effort a few times, so he was pretty sure it was much of the usual. Whatever, if it was important, he’d hear about it.

“And that’s all for this week guys, thanks,” Liam dismissed the meeting. “007, 009 and Q please stay behind.”

They waited until everyone left, besides Niall, because well, it was Niall, before Liam turned to them. “Jesy, if you could begin your report?”

“Right,” Jesy nodded, sitting on top of one of the tables, crossing her legs and leaning back on her arms. “I worked this weekend, and can I just say, I am damn well glad I got into the spy life because I can afford things like maids. I am not made for cleaning. It is killer on my nails.”

Harry laughed, despite the fact that he was still angry about her being on his case as if he wasn’t good enough to handle it on his own. He couldn’t help it, Jesy was hilarious.

“Yes, well,” Liam cleared his throat. “That’s good to er-- know? I’m sorry about your nails. But I meant the report on what you found at Downing Street?”

That made Harry sit up and look at her. He hadn’t known she had found something. Something incriminating on Louis perhaps?

“I know, I was just stating for the record, I have delicate nails,” Jesy winked. “But moving on, you were right, boss, the tickets were definitely a show. I was on duty this weekend, which another thing, I had to clean on Saturday, honestly, it was--”

“Moving on,” Liam said pointedly. He looked at the other boys. “I had Jesy search Downing Street when we were at the convention, because something didn’t sit right with me about it.” He turned back to Jesy. “What did you find?”

“Blueprints,” she explained. “Lots and lots of blueprints on the convention center, exit route drawings, the works.”

“Louis did say they were considering the center for a future event so he was scouting it out, because they didn’t trust reports,” Harry remembered. “But something about it,” he shook his head. “He was being weird there, did you guys notice?”

Liam nodded. “He was definitely casing the place. And he disappeared for a while.”

“He was a little sketchy at lunch too,” Jesy added. “I brought up the fact that the personnel seems to change almost daily and how weird they all are, and he was completely unfazed.”

“Because he’s used to it,” Zayn tried, but Harry saw it in his face. Even Zayn couldn’t explain this away. 

“Or he knows why they’re being replaced,” Niall said, sending an apologetic look at Zayn. “I’m sorry, Z, but he was being sketchy.”

“There’s more,” Jesy said. They all turned to look at her. “The man they identified as the Moscow suicide bomber? I asked around subtly, pretending I was looking for gossip. Most of my coworkers think I’m a dumb bimbo by the way, I would be a little offended if I wasn’t playing it up so much. But anyway, he was definitely working for Cowell a few weeks before the bombing.”

“So that’s two of his former workers that are bombing major cities in the world,” Niall said. “We have enough to investigate him directly yet?”

“It could be a coincidence,” Liam shook his head sadly. “According to Statute 74 Article 3, we need solid evidence the PM is involved in illegal activities before we can look at them or anything we do find gets thrown out at trial. This is all suspicious, but it’s also all circumstantial.”

“It’s basically a big red arrow pointing right at him!” Harry exclaimed. 

“Not yet,” Liam looked at him. “I need solid proof.”

Harry nodded, understanding what Liam was saying. He needed to get that proof and soon. He’d have to up his surveillance on Louis, maybe get actual video feeds. That reminded him of something. “I don’t mean to tell you how to do your job, M, and I know we’re shorthanded, but I think my time would be best spent focusing solely on Louis, not on these other missions that have nothing to do with this.”

Liam sighed, and rubbed his eyes. “I agree, but this is an unsanctioned mission. No one knows what you’re actually doing. Jesy is listed in another mission, but it’s a cover. And she is deep undercover. Since you're running only Louis, I need to send you on these missions so people don’t ask questions.”

Harry exchanged a look with Niall, who nodded subtly. “Winston and Walsh? Something needs to be done about them.”

Liam cringed. “Look, I’m handling it. I just need you to do this, Harry. I know it’s a lot of work I’m putting on you, but you’re one of the best agents I have.”

“No offense taken,” Jesy interjected with a smirk.

Liam rolled his eyes at her, though there was a small smile on his face too. “I know you can handle this, Styles. Look, I’ll try to keep the other assignments closer to home, yeah? They won’t all be domestic, but I’ll try my best.”

Harry nodded, knowing he’d do whatever Liam asked of him. Not because he was his boss, and not because he was a soldier or a spy, but because Liam was his friend, his family. And they had all seen how much this whole situation was weighing on him. Sure, it was a lot more work, but Liam was right, he could handle it. He would handle it. And in the meantime, if he ended up punching Winston and/or Walsh in the face one of these days, well, that would just be a plus.

\---

If Harry was in an actual relationship he would cook for his partner all the time. He loved to cook. On the rare occasions he was home from missions and actually had the kitchen stocked, he enjoyed making himself a nice meal. 

It was not for that reason that he was cooking Louis breakfast right now. Louis could not cook. Or he could, but he couldn't cook particularly well. He stuck to simple meals, nothing fancy, usually frozen or easily prepared. 

So even if Harry didn't love to cook, cooking for Louis was something he was going to do. It was something Louis would like, something he would find attractive. After all, he was designed to be the perfect boyfriend for Louis. So what if it was really similar to himself anyway? The point is he had to be what Louis would like, for the mission. 

And he knew Louis would like him cooking. He knew it before Louis came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Harry's middle, his head propped on the back of his shoulder blade, his lips ghosting over his neck. It was sometimes the little things that made people go nuts and from what he could tell about Louis, it was just showing that you cared. 

The goosebumps were a bodily reaction. That was all. 

“I've never had anybody cook for me,” Louis mouthed against his neck. He sucked a little on the skin there and Harry's breath caught in his throat. 

“It's just pancakes,” Harry said as he flipped the one in the pan over. 

“With chocolate chips,” Louis said a bit dreamily. “And I can smell the bacon and there are eggs on the counter.”

Harry let out a soft laugh. “You're right. I'm proper wooing you now.”

“My prince has finally come,” Louis said. He unlaced his arms from Harry's waist and reached out a hand towards the bacon. Harry slapped it away. 

“I'm almost done,” Harry said piling another pancake onto the stack. “Go sit. Make some tea.”

“Well I can't do both at the same time,” Louis muttered. Harry leveled him a glare while pouring the last of the batter onto the frying pan and Louis cracked a laugh at his face. He stepped up on his toes and planted a giggling kiss to Harry's cheek. 

He moved around him to the cabinets on the other side of the stove. He stopped dead when he realized what was simmering on the back burner. 

“Is that,” Louis inhaled deeply, “syrup?”

It was in fact a strawberry syrup. Harry felt a small blush creep up on his cheeks. Maybe he had gone overboard. “It’s, uh,” he played up the stammer. At least Louis could infer what he wished from Harry’s shy act. “It’s just a recipe I’ve been meaning to try.”

He watched Louis stick his finger in the pot and wince slightly from the heat, but when he pulled it out, he stuck it straight in his mouth. “My God,” he moaned around his finger. 

Harry’s dick made a slight twitch at the sound and well, the sight really, because he'd had those same lips wrapped around his dick just a few hours ago and that was a good memory.

While the kettle warmed up, Louis made silly faces at him from where he was leaning against the counter. Harry rolled his eyes, trying and failing to stop the grin on his face. Louis finished pouring the water at the same time that Harry flipped the last pancake onto the stack and turned off the hob.

They met at the table and were surrounded by a small mountain of food. The small appreciative sounds and moans Louis made while he ate were starting to get to Harry. Maybe it should be weird, but it sounded just like he did when Harry was nipping at his neck or kissing down his chest and it was doing things to him. 

And he was pretty sure Louis could tell.

He cleared his throat and saw a small smirk on Louis’ lips. Harry ignored him and asked, “Have you got plans this week?”

It was blissfully Saturday morning and although Harry didn’t have any real time off while being undercover with Louis, he wasn’t working any extra missions right now, so he had more time to focus on Louis.

“Tomorrow afternoon I’m going out of the country for a work thing,” Louis said around a bite of pancake.

“Anywhere exciting?” Harry asked. He took a sip of his tea. He knew where Louis was headed, he had seen it get added to the calendar in the middle of the week. While Louis was out of town he had his own little trip he’d be headed on. “Exotic maybe? A little sexy?” He said with an eyebrow wiggle.

Louis scrunched up his nose. “No, just heading to America for the week. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be working the whole time.”

“I hate to think of you cooped up on an army base for the whole trip.”

Louis raised an eyebrow and let out a laugh. “You’re wrong again.”

“I’ll get it one day,” Harry said. 

“Maybe,” Louis laughed. “But how will we pass the time until then?” 

Harry wasn’t surprised when he felt Louis foot brush against his calf and inch up it. He let out a short, barking laugh.

“I’m sure we can come up with something,” he said, smiling brightly.

 

\---

The ice in Harry’s glass gave off a clunk every time the train lurched. He sipped from it slowly in his seat in first class. Harry was on an overnight train from Belgrade to Sofia, a slow moving trip through Serbia and into Bulgaria. He had a newspaper in front of him that he’d picked up in Belgrade before he had boarded the train. There were several hours before he needed to complete his mission and this was probably as good a time as any to brush up on his Serbian. 

When he’d been at uni, he’d studied languages. As many languages as he could. He’d had the Romance languages down by the end of sixth form, so he’d spent uni falling deeply in love with the Cyrillic alphabet. He would think in Russian, he’d mutter in Uzbek, curse his flatmate in Kurdish. He’d write his notes in Arabic. He’d relax by watching movies dubbed in German. And when he needed a break, he’d dream in Mandarin. It wasn’t really a surprise when he was recruited to MI6. He was reasonably athletic, naturally charming, and they could send him almost anywhere and he’d be able to assimilate seamlessly. 

He rose through the ranks effortlessly. He slipped comfortably into the role of 007 and he never looked back.

He’d been on countless missions, killed a few men, one woman, watched buildings burn, a couple governments topple, and one strange and fearless demonstration of peace in some outlying part of Kyrgyzstan that made him tear up a little. He’d been all over the world. He’d met all kinds of people, and slept with quite a few of them too. And he kind of really loved it. 

Even simpler missions like this. There were challenges, mental and physical, that he would never face at an ordinary job, and he thrived off of them. 

He sat stoically until his watch lightly vibrated at one am. The train had long gone quiet. He was the only person still sitting in his carriage while the other passengers had retreated to their sleeper compartments long ago. But he had remained patient. He read the newspaper slowly, then again a little quicker. 

Harry stood after the alarm vibrated. He stretched his legs and cracked his back when he stood up. He pulled on a pair of leather gloves he'd had in his back pocket. The newspaper was tossed into the bin on his way out of the carriage. He walked quickly and quietly through the corridor of the sleeper compartments looking for a specific room with a specific person sleeping inside. 

The seventeenth compartment was the last one in this carriage. The ones on the other side and across the hall were unoccupied. Harry picked the lock quickly and slipped inside. He paused and leaned back against the closed door. In the very dim light from the small window he could see the face of the courier for a local Serbian diplomat who was also, they suspected, selling information to foreign criminal empires. 

Harry slowed his breathing to match the man’s. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light and when he could see clearly he began to move. From his pocket he pulled out a small vial of chloroform and he soaked a small towel with it before carefully pressing it to the man’s face. He could feel when it took effect. His breathing slowed and his head fell a little to the side.

And with that he got to work. 

Harry pulled out his flashlight and held it between his lips. He searched through the suitcase propped up on the far wall, quickly but carefully looking between each article of clothing and in the pockets along the top. He tapped lightly on the bottom making sure there was nothing hidden inside. 

When he came up with nothing he moved on to the rest of the room. 

He ran his hands against the wall feeling for any slip, any give in the paneling. He moved onto the floor, kneeling down and running his hands along the vinyl. It was peeling a small amount in the far corner and he lifted it up as far as he could but all he found underneath was sticky brown glue and a few dead spiders. 

He felt the top of the small built in table and then ran his fingers underneath. He found a few pieces of gum stuck underneath and nothing else. 

He shone the flashlight up to the ceiling, but there was no paneling or tiles. There was nowhere to hide up there. 

The only place in the room left to look was the only place occupied. Harry stared at the bed for a moment before taking action. He lifted the part of the mattress closest to him and the man on the bed rolled back and hit the wall with a thump. He was grateful there was no one on either side as he didn't really want a run in with the porter. 

Sure enough, on the spring frame of the bed there was a small brown folder. He pulled it out and dropped the mattress with a thwack. 

He opened the folder quickly and couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips, a little tightly because of the flashlight still in his mouth. He closed it and looked around the room quickly making sure nothing was out of place.

He opened the door slowly and peeked out to make sure no one was in the corridor. He tucked the folder under his arm and looked back once to the man still asleep curled into the wall before walking out and back to the lounge. 

Mission accomplished. 

\---

The Plaza was quieter than Louis remembered from their last trip to New York City. Maybe it was because he was bored, sitting in the lobby while Simon and Ann Marie were at some meeting with some representative. The Head of the US Energy Department, if he remembered his iCal correctly. Normally, he would have been in the meeting with them, taking notes, jotting down meetings and times, reminding the Prime Minister he had another meeting to get to, but not today. Ann Marie had assured him he wasn't needed after the meeting with the Head of the US Agricultural Department, and had given him the rest of the day off. Unfortunately for Louis, he hadn't planned anything for himself but those meetings. And what was the point of dragging your secretary across the ocean for a Global Climate Summit if you didn’t intend on using them? 

He guessed he could walk around the city, maybe see Central Park. He'd never had time to actually see much of the place whenever he'd been here for work before. At least, the local aspect of it. Sure, he'd done the tourist thing a few trips ago, but it was New York City. There was always something to see, right?

He got up and left The Plaza, walking along the busy streets, window shopping as he went. He thought maybe he'd get something for Harry, for his flat, because it was a little bare. He figured Harry would like that when he got back, knowing Louis had been thinking of him. Granted, it was basically all he was thinking about. When he was supposed to call in a reservation for lunch with the Secretary of State with Simon, he was thinking of Harry’s eyes. And when he was supposed to make sure someone picked up Ann Marie’s dry cleaning, he was picturing his dimples. But still. He was sure Harry would like to know he was thinking of him in a way that wasn't creepy.

He was window shopping when he saw them. They were perfect. They were so Harry, Louis knew nothing else would compare. And it would definitely lead to sexy time, he was sure of it. Which was good. Because Harry was good at it, very, very good. Almost unfairly good. He had a way of consuming Louis so completely and yet making him crave more. 

Okay, he needed to stop thinking about that. Now. Because yes, there was always something to see in New York City, but he really didn't want people to have to see his boner caused by looking at a pair of boxers. No, Louis was going to go into the store and buy them instead, not thinking about sex with Harry. And if he went up to his hotel room to quickly rub one out while thinking about sex with Harry, well, no one had to know that.

\----

“That one really hit the spot,” Liam grinned as they slammed four shot glasses onto the table.

Harry laughed and high fived Niall. He’d high fived him quite a few times tonight, as they all got increasingly drunker as the night went on, especially Liam, who needed it the most. It hadn’t been easy convincing him to let loose tonight, usually he only allowed himself a couple of pints before he called it a night. But when Niall had come into Harry’s office that afternoon and told him they needed to get Liam drunk to forget about work stress for a night, well, who was Harry to disagree? 

“We need another one,” Niall waved down the bartender, gesturing to him for another round.

“The next one will probably hit the spot too,” Zayn nodded sagely, as if he wasn’t just as drunk as the rest of them.

“You know it,” Niall said, reaching over to ruffle up his hair. Zayn laughed and swatted at him, which only made Niall try harder. Harry just watched them and laughed.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve had a night like this. I’m glad we did this,” Liam interrupted them, red in the face, though Harry wasn’t sure if that was from the alcohol or embarrassment. Liam hadn’t gotten this drunk with them since Harry’s birthday in February, and well, they weren’t allowed to mention that. “Even though I might die if we do another one.”

“Aww Li-Li!” Niall screeched and waved his arm again at the bartender. “We’ll have to definitely celebrate that with another shot!”

While they waited for the bartender to pour out four more shots, Harry checked his phone. It wasn’t that he was expecting a message from anyone, especially not Louis, but he needed to check. For the mission and all. He frowned a little when there wasn’t one waiting for him. Which, fine. 

He maybe was frowning a little bit.

“So what is your next stupid plan?” Zayn asked, tilting slightly into Niall.

“I have never, not once, had a stupid plan,” Harry said, turning his nose up. “So I have no idea what you mean.”

“What about the time you thought it was a good idea to jump out of that moving van?” Niall asked.

“Or when you climbed into that bee infested tree and got stung so many times I had to create a special ointment for your--.” Zayn started.

“Okay,” Harry interrupted him loudly, shuddering a bit. He nodded slightly at the bartender as he placed the shots on their table. “Technically, both of those instances were for missions, and I did get the job done, which, shut up.”

“Then there was the time you thought it was a good idea to bring back that weapon from your mission in China through customs in your carry on and I had to come get you from the airport in China and assure them you weren’t some axe murderer,” Liam added.

“First of all, it was a sword, not an axe, so obviously I wasn’t an axe murderer, Liam,” Harry said pointedly while the other two laughed. “And really, I told you, I forgot to put it in my check in bag. And it was really your fault for making me fly commercial.”

“Technically that was your fault for blowing up the private jet,” Niall said.

“Which I should still shoot you for, by the way,” Liam said.

“Seriously though,” Zayn said. “What’s next?”

Liam took a large gulp of his beer. “He’s got to check out Louis’ flat while he’s out of the country.”

Zayn leaned back in his chair and his face twisted up in some form of a comical grimace and then threw back his shot. Harry let out a short, honking laugh before drinking his as well. Niall and Liam followed suit. 

“No fucking way mate,” Zayn said. 

“Come on man, you gave me the thing to get his key,” Harry said. “You knew it was coming.”

“He’s really got to,” Liam said solemnly. He was slowly nodding his head, gripping his pint tightly. Niall let out a snort. Liam whipped his head around to Niall at the sound and Niall straightened up under the glare. And then Liam turned to look at Zayn and then Harry. A slow smile began to creep onto his face. It was a little terrifying to them all. “We should all go! Team building.” He slammed his fist on the table jovially and the twelve or so shot glasses rattled and the beer sloshed in their pints.

“What?” Harry and Zayn said at the same time.

Niall slammed both fists on the table, the force of which toppled a shot glass over. “Liam’s breaking his own rules! This calls for more shots!”

“It’s not,” Liam let out a huff. “It’s not breaking the rules. I’m just supervising. It’s okay.” 

Liam started nodding again. Harry’s eyes had gone a little wide and Zayn had a confused wrinkle in the middle of his forehead. Niall was overjoyed that Liam was breaking the handbook.

“Get up men!” Niall said pushing back from the table, rattling the glasses once again. Harry had to catch a shot glass as it slipped off the side. 

They all stood up as if Niall was their leader, which, he kind of was.

“Let’s go break into your boyfriend’s flat!” Niall yelled. He started marching towards the door. 

“But first,” Harry said, holding him back. “Liam! Pay the tab!”

Zayn and Niall both let out cheers while Liam glared at Harry. 

“Okay!” Harry backtracked, pulling out his wallet. “I will pay the tab!”

The others laughed as Harry put a few notes on the bar and followed him out. “Are we absolutely sure this is a good idea?” Zayn asked nervously.

“Hell yeah!” Niall answered. “I want to see where they do it.”

“Always so eloquent, Niall,” Liam rolled his eyes. He cleared his throat and pointed forward. “Onward, good sirs!”

“This isn't 18th century England,” Zayn rolled his eyes as they started towards Louis’ flat.

It wasn't so far from the pub thankfully. It was as they were walking though, Liam chasing Zayn to mess up his hair that Harry remembered something. “Mrs. Waverly,” he said suddenly.

“No, Niall Horan,” Niall snickered.

“Shut up, I mean his neighbor,” he groaned. “She's a busy body. I'm sure she'll be watching if we go to Louis’ door.”

That had Liam and Zayn stop too. “So what do we do?” Niall asked, looking around at them.

Harry grinned. “I have an idea.”

Zayn groaned. “Why do I have the feeling that I'm going to hate this idea?”

“Probably because you will,” Harry said.

“Okay, what do we have to do?” Liam asked.

And that was how, 15 minutes later, they wound up on Louis’ fire escape, waiting for Harry to let them in through the window. He rushed to Louis’ door, terrified of what Zayn would do to him if he kept him waiting too long.

“What are you doing here, boy?” A female voice made him jump slightly as he was turning the key in Louis’ door. 

Harry turned around, turning on his charm full stop. “You must be Mrs. Waverly, my boyfriend Louis told me you were his lovely neighbor next door.”

“Humph, yes, well, you still haven't answered my question. Louis isn't here. He left with a suitcase the other day.”

“Yes, to America,” Harry smiled with the full force of his dimples. “I just forgot something, I'm just going to grab it.”

“Well, hurry on then,” she snapped. “And -- try not to continue your - shenanigans in the hall again. We do have children here.”

“Of course, Mrs. Waverly, won't happen again,” he nodded and hurried in. Phew. Okay, he had to let the others in. He ran to Louis’ bedroom window, throwing it open quickly. “Sorry, she saw me and stopped me.”

They climbed in quickly. Or rather, stumbled in drunkenly. Niall tripped. Twice. Zayn was glaring at him. “I had to climb up a fire escape. I had to stand outside and climb through a window. I am not a field agent and I am not happy.”

“Duly noted,” Liam rolled his eyes. “But it's a good exercise, Q. We’re team building.”

“We're already best friends!” Zayn protested. “We're already a team.”

“Well, team,” Niall clapped his hands. “Let’s start searching!”

They split up quickly and efficiently, with an ease that only came with years of friendship and comradery. Liam started flipping up the cushions on the couch with little finesse.

“Honestly, how is it possible you became M without any subtlety?” Harry said, watching him with squinted eyes. 

“I'm just that intelligent,” Liam stuck his hand down the back of the couch and pulled out a custard cream wrapper with a piece of gum stuck inside. “This is disgusting.” He made to move to toss it in the bin.

“Put it back where you found it, Liam,” Niall said, swatting it from his hand. “We don't want him to know we were here.”

“It's gum. Under his couch,” Liam stated. “I doubt he’ll notice.”

“He might,” Niall snickered.

“This is Louis. We could add gum wrappers or make more of a mess and he wouldn't notice,” Zayn rolled his eyes. 

Niall set off to the bedroom, pulling Zayn with him, and cackling all the way. He pushed Zayn into the bathroom as they passed it and Harry could hear both of them start going through drawers.

He moved into the kitchen, looking through the cabinets. He wasn’t seeing anything he hadn’t noticed before. A stack of dishes behind one door, cups in another. About fifteen boxes of tea. Yorkshire of course. He would be a bad spy if he didn’t open and check every single one, but all that was in them was tea. There were a few boxes of cereal that got a similar treatment and a loaf of bread that was covered in speckled mold. He itched to bin it, but he held back.

Harry was running his fingers over the inside of the cabinets and along the seams when he heard Niall yell out from the bedroom.

“Jackpot!”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Niall!” Zayn yelped. He heard Niall start to laugh.

Harry moved towards the bedroom and he saw that Niall had pulled a box out from underneath the bed. Liam moved into the room behind him. Harry was at a loss for words, but he heard Liam let out a groan and say, “Jesus fucking christ.”

Niall was a little too happy to be finding Louis’ box of sex toys. And there were quite a few in there. They brought a lot of images to Harry’s mind.

Louis with his knees pulled to his chest and that glittery vibe being pumped in and out of his hole.

A ring around his cock.

The pretty blue and green glass dildo twisted up inside of him.

Harry was too drunk for this. His mouth went a little slack. And he couldn’t help his tongue licking his lip.

He thought he heard Zayn make a fake retching sound. Niall was still laughing, small little hiccups now. 

Harry pulled out of his headspace slowly. Sleeping with Louis was part of his mission, and him enjoying it was just a pleasant bonus. He liked his body, there was no shame in that. 

When Niall finally stopped laughing and Zayn had put the lid back on the box with toilet paper wrapped around his hands Liam spoke again. “Before Niall’s ridiculous interruption, I think I actually found something.”

They all shuffled back to the living room where the coffee table top had been popped off and inside was a folder. 

“I haven’t opened it yet,” Liam said before pulling it out. 

Liam read each page slowly before passing it on to Niall, who read it much quicker. Zayn waved it off and passed it straight to Harry.

“I’d rather get the abridged version.” Zayn sat down heavily on the couch and placed his head in his hands.

Harry scanned the page quickly. It was a list of names. When he was handed the next page by Niall it was a carefully put together schedule. The names placed in the tiny box seemed to correspond to the names on the list. The next few pages were detailed backgrounds on each of the names.

“But what does it mean?” Harry asked, looking the names over, trying to figure out where they were from.

“I don’t know yet,” Liam said. “But we will figure it out.”

\---

Harry woke up with his head absolutely pounding. He immediately wished he was back asleep. He opened his eyes slowly and they burned a little from the morning sunlight. His neck ached. 

And then all of a sudden he realized why. He sat straight up from where he was slumped into the couch. He was still at Louis’ flat. They all were. After reading through all the documents and strategizing for an hour or so, they had all drifted to sleep.

And shit. They never left. 

He pushed Liam's face with his foot where it was pressed into a throw pillow on the floor. He let out a groan and leaned away from Harry's foot. He let out a sigh and leaned back into the couch. A few more hours at Louis’ flat probably wouldn't hurt. Since they are here already. 

Zayn and Niall were on the other end of the couch leaning on each other and falling slightly off the end. He thought about getting up and getting a sharpie from the drawer in the kitchen and drawing all over their faces, but he thought standing up might literally make his head explode. 

He laid slumped on the couch slipping in and out of sleep and trying to keep his stomach from turning itself inside out for the better part of an hour. 

Liam started to stir on the floor. Harry could tell he was awake when he let out a long groan followed by a slight whimper. 

“Why didn't I just die?” Liam said into the pillow. 

Harry let out a grunt. Actual words might make him lose it. 

A phone started vibrating on the coffee table. He thought it might be Niall’s but he was too pained to look so he lifted his foot and prodded the pile that was him and Zayn. 

“Your phone,” He said weakly.

Then two more phones went off. The buzz of Zayn’s from inside the couch and the shrill ringing of Liam’s on the floor next to him. 

And then the sound of the Men in Black theme started playing from the kitchen and he knew it was his own phone. Fucking Niall.

“Somebody please,” he whimpered out. 

“By somebody, he means you, boss,” Niall grumbled from the couch. “Oomf.” Zayn had apparently hit him with a pillow.

He saw Liam’s hand scrambling for it on the floor and he picked it up with his eyes still closed.

“M,” he said simply.

He listened for a moment and then sat up abruptly. Harry raised an eyebrow at the movement. Liam kept listening, Harry could hear the buzzing of a voice on the other end, and he let out a few affirmative mumbles every few minutes. 

“I’ll let him know,” Liam said looking at Harry. “Wheels up in an hour.”

Harry sat up on the couch, ignoring the stirring in his stomach. 

Liam hung up the phone and began to speak, “There’s been another bombing.”

“Where?” He heard Zayn ask next to him. It seemed he had woken up in the time that Liam was on the phone. Niall had as well and the three of them were on the couch waiting for whatever M had to say.

“Sydney,” Liam said, running a hand over his face. “Harry, we’ll need you to go.”

“Of course,” he said.

“There’s been at least four explosions and a possibly unrelated shooting of three Parliament members.”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Zayn said. He lurched forward and let out a dry heave. He scrambled up off the couch and into the bathroom before throwing up.

Liam continued, “Jeff’s going with you. He needs to have something to report back home.”

Harry let out a terse nod. 

“Niall, I need you to go through all of Louis’ activity from the last couple days. Everything.” He paused waiting for Niall’s nod. “See if you can get someone to pull CCTV in New York. Ask Jeff for a contact if you need one.”

“I have one,” Niall said picking up his phone off the coffee table. Of course he did.

“Good,” Liam nodded. “I want to know where he went, who he spoke with. Everything. Cowell too.”

“I’m on it,” he said, standing up from the couch. He pulled Harry up with him and then left to go check on Zayn.

“I can’t believe there’s been another one,” Harry said quietly.

“There’s no more dicking around, Styles,” Liam said in his M voice. “We need to focus completely on this. There’s been five terrorist attacks in as many months, we have to figure this out, whatever it means for this country and for our allies.”

Harry nodded solemnly. When Zayn finished in the bathroom, the four of them would leave through the fire escape and hope that Mrs. Waverly wouldn’t notice he didn't come back through the door. He’d go home and back a small bag and probably throw up a bit before leaving for the airport. He’d fly to Australia where he would be faced with the fact that the man he was sleeping with was either working for a man who was terrorizing the world, or he was doing it himself. But for now, he’d wait with Liam in Louis’ living room and try to keep it together.


	11. Chapter Eleven

“You look like hell,” Jeff grinned as the plane started take off.

“I wish I was dead.” Harry just closed his eyes, leaning back into his seat, feeling a little queasy. Sure enough, he had thrown up the second he reached his flat. His real flat, which, okay, was probably a dumb idea. It was much further from Louis’ flat, and he had been queasy the entire ride over. He couldn't exactly head over there when Louis was in the country, in case he somehow saw him go into it, but he kept most of his gear over there in case Louis accidentally stumbled onto something in his temporary place. It was a little ridiculous how much of Harry’s life depended on Louis at the moment, though that was an unfortunate part of any undercover gig.

Jeff laughed, and the sound ricocheted through Harry’s head, making him wince a bit. “Had a fun night, I take it then?”

“It was interesting,” Harry allowed. The night had definitely taken a turn for the worse when they had found the list of names and background checks. What did they mean and what the hell was Louis doing with them? The others would look into it while Harry went down under, dealing with yet another terrorist attack that he should have been able to prevent. 

“Your man isn't here, right?” Jeff asked.

“No, he's in the States with Cowell,” Harry said, his eyes still closed. 

“Hmm.”

Something in his tone, even just with that, made Harry open his eyes. He looked at Jeff. “What?”

“I didn't say anything,” Jeff said, a small smirk on his face.

“I can practically feel you thinking at me,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Spit it out, Azoff.”

Jeff sighed. “This Louis, he's Zayn’s friend, right?”

“Yes,” Harry said warily, wondering where Jeff was going with this. 

“So he must know Niall pretty well then?” Jeff prompted.

“I'm not sure how those two things are conducive.”

“Very funny,” Jeff said. “I'm just saying, you all get on pretty well with him, yeah? M too, from what I've heard. You all seem to like him quite a bit.”

“What's your point, Azoff?” Okay, so Louis seemed like a cool guy, but they all knew he was still a potential terrorist, well apart from Zayn. 

Jeff looked at him for a long minute. “All I'm saying is, you seem quite attached to your mark, a potential terrorist mark.”

That made Harry laugh. “What are you on about? We aren't attached to anything but getting Cowell on these attacks.”

But Jeff didn't laugh with him. He just watched him some more. “Look, Styles, this life, working these cases, I get it, it's rough. Especially these undercover missions, where you really have to immerse yourself into someone’s life, your every minute revolving around them. Sometimes, it's easy to cross some lines.”

“Maybe for you,” Harry sat up, looking at him coldly now. He didn't like what Jeff was trying to insinuate. “I don't know what you do at CIA, but we don't cross those lines at MI6.”

“I'm not saying you have.”

“Good,” Harry crossed his arms. 

“Yet,” Jeff added quietly. He sighed and shook his head, leaning forward slightly. “I'm not saying you will definitely cross a line. But I've listened to the tapes, Harry. I've heard you all discuss him. And as someone on the outside, someone not emotionally and personally attached to this, you're getting too close. You need to shut it down, now. Trust me, I’m telling you this as a friend. Because you know we cannot afford to cross those lines. Because once we do, we can never go back.”

Harry sighed and rubbed at his eyes. He understood what Jeff was saying. But he would never. Being MI6, it meant too much to him, what he did, the difference it made to his country and the world, it mattered. He would never risk that. He would never cross that line. “It doesn't matter anyway,” he said firmly. “I know Louis is a mark, and a potentially dangerous one. We all do. And I'm not anywhere close to crossing that line because I'm not anywhere close to falling for my mark.”

“Sure, sure,” Jeff said easily, sitting back again, a smile on his face. “Then, I won't say anything else.”

He didn't sound convinced, which made Harry frown. He wasn’t falling for Louis. That was ridiculous. He was potentially blowing up major cities around the world. He was definitely not, in no way, falling for him. “I'm not,” he insisted again.

“Whatever you say, Styles,” Jeff nodded before closing his eyes. “Now, get some rest, you still look like shit.”

Harry grumbled, but settled back into his seat. He didn't care what Jeff thought anyway. What mattered was what he knew himself, and that was that Louis Tomlinson was just his mark and nothing else. He was not falling for him, not now and not ever.

He groaned and closed his eyes, leaning his head back. This was all making his head hurt even more.

\--

Jeff brought it up again when they were walking into the ASIS and kept at it while they were showing their badges at security and being escorted upstairs. 

He mentioned it again after Harry got off the phone with Louis several hours later, having told him he had gone down under for work. 

Louis had said, muffled into the phone, “Are you sure that's safe, Haz? Didn't half the city just blow up?”

And while Harry reassured him, softly and patiently, Jeff was eyeing him curiously. A look Harry recognized, but he tried to telepathically assure him that he was just playing his role. 

By the time they were getting ready to head home several days later, Jeff had stopped mentioning it all together. Harry hoped that he'd realized he was wrong, but he thought maybe Jeff just thought he wasn't going to get through to him. 

Before heading to the small private airport Harry decided to walk around the city a bit and check out some of the tourist traps he had only ever seen in photographs. He'd just finished staring at the Sydney Harbor Bridge and considering the climb before snapping a selfie and pretending he’d done it. 

He found a small tourist shop a few blocks away and stepped inside looking for something he could give Liam as a gag gift. He liked to pick him up something silly everywhere he went. He was pretty sure M just threw them away or shoved them in a drawer, but it helped him keep a light attitude when a lot of what they did was dangerous. Also it gave him a great selling point on not getting shot. Hey, Liam, remember that time I went to Mexico and brought you something. So it hadn't really worked on stopping the threats - yet, but he was still hopeful it would help in the long run. 

He walked through the aisles slowly. On the back wall of the shop there was a collection of unusual gifts. Some of them more natural than others. Kangaroo paw backscratchers. A shoulder bag shaped like a toad. Actually, it might have been a real toad. Harry shuddered at the thought. But right along the wall, near the corner, was the perfect gift. Just what Liam had always needed in his life. The perfect compliment to his entire existence. 

A kangaroo scrotum keychain.

He picked it up off the shelf with a snicker and walked to the register. 

Right next to the register on a rack with a few other clothing items was something that caught his eye. He paused for a second and grabbed it. Usually he wasn’t an impulse shopper, or gifter as it was, but it was perfect.

And anyway, it wasn’t a big deal to bring back a gift to your fake boyfriend when you’ve been abroad. Really, it should be expected.

\---

Louis was a little perplexed on how excited he was to see Harry, which was crazy. They'd only been apart for a couple of days, long enough for him to go to New York for a few days and Harry to go to Australia for work. It wasn't like they'd been separated for months or even weeks. It was just a few days. And yet, he couldn't stop his heart from pounding or the butterflies in his stomach as he knocked on Harry’s door. 

Harry opened it in a pair of boxers, the last dreads of sleep still on his face. But he smiled when he saw Louis. And okay, so it made Louis’ heart flutter a bit, but so what. He was allowed to get all weak-kneed about his super hot amazing boyfriend. “Hi,” Harry said, leaning his head on the edge of the door.

“I don't think that's the proper way to greet one’s boyfriend,” Louis scoffed.

Harry snickered as he stood straight and looped his finger into the belt loops on Louis’ trousers, pulling him in close, his lips finding their mark. The kiss was slow, easy, perfect. Louis found himself sighing into it, his free hand reaching up to grip Harry’s shoulder. Much too soon, Louis pushed Harry back slowly. Harry went back easily, though he was pouting. “I have something for you,” Louis said excitedly, walking around him into the flat.

“Oh?” Harry closed the door and followed him. “Funny coincidence, I have something for you too.”

“I do enjoy presents,” Louis nodded, making his way to Harry’s couch and plopping down. “It's good you learned that early.”

Harry laughed. He went into his bedroom and came back with a bag, settling in next to him on the couch. “I aim to please. Open yours first.” He handed Louis the bag. “It's not much, I didn't have that much time to shop. I was only down there for a day, but I hope you like it.”

Louis leaned over and pecked his lips. “I'm sure I will. And if I don't, just remember, I know where you sleep and I will have no problem shaving your eyebrows off.”

“Noted,” Harry grinned. “Open it.”

Louis opened the bag quickly and sat frozen for a moment when he saw what was inside. And then he started laughing. His boyfriend, his beautiful, wonderful boyfriend had gotten him boxers with a kangaroo pouch on the crotch and a tail printed on the back.

“I love them,” Louis said between giggles. “This is perfect actually. Open yours.” He handed him the bag.

Harry did so much slower than Louis, though an excited smile was on his face. “Oh my God,” he said as he pulled out the boxers with the giant American eagle on the crotch. He started laughing, and God, if that sound didn't immediately bring back the butterflies in Louis’ stomach. “I guess great minds think alike.”

“Well, I know my mind is pretty great. I don't know much about yours,” Louis smirked. Harry scoffed, pretending to look affronted, though the smile on his face kind of ruined that. “Seriously though, thanks. I can't wait to wear these.”

Harry pulled the boxers out of his hands and put them both on his table. He gripped the front of Louis’ shirt and pulled him in close, a small smirk on his face. “I don't think you'll need them just yet though.” And then he was kissing him again, more urgently now. “I missed you,” he said between kisses.

Louis was too lost in the feeling as Harry reached down to unbuckle his trousers. But deep down, under the lust and heat that had just taken over him, he knew he had definitely missed him too.

\---

“What time is Liam getting there?” Louis asked as he buckled into Harry’s car.

“Around 8,” Harry said. He waited until Louis was situated before pulling away from the curb. He was a little nervous, because this was Liam. This was M. There were going to be a lot of agents of MI6 staff there, and okay, so they all knew not to discuss any of that in the vicinity of outsiders, but these boys and girls tended to get a bit drunk at these parties. He just resolved himself to not get too drunk and to not leave Louis’ side once they got there.

Speaking of, he realized as he stopped at a red light. He had no idea where he was going. “Crap, I don’t know where Niall lives.”

Louis just stared at him. “You are aware these are your best friends, right? How do you not know where to go right now? How is that even possible?”

Harry halfheartedly glared at him. “And you do?”

“Of course,” Louis scoffed, a small smile on his face. “Take a left up there at the next light.”

He let Louis instruct him on where to drive, glad he wasn’t like Niall when giving directions, only giving them at the last minute, when the turn was passing. 

“You think Liam has any idea?” Louis asked conversationally. “Take a right up here.”

Harry laughed, taking the turn. “This is Liam. I’m pretty sure he thinks we’ve all forgotten his birthday. The moron never learns. We don’t forget birthdays.”

“That is your boss you just called a moron,” Louis laughed. “Which I will definitely be telling him.”

After which, Liam would probably threaten to shoot Harry, or worse, give him paperwork. “I’m evoking the boyfriend code, Article 4 Section 11.”

“I’m pretty sure you just made that up,” Louis rolled his eyes. “Turn right after this next light.”

“I did not,” Harry looked affronted. “It’s not my fault your boyfriend code handbook doesn’t have that section.”

“How unfortunate for me,” Louis snickered. “And what does Article 4 Section 11 say exactly?”

“Well, it says that once it is evoked, said boyfriend cannot divulge information on what the other boyfriend said,” Harry said smartly.

“Hmm,” Louis tapped his chin. “Well, too bad for you, my handbook doesn’t have that rule. Okay, it’s that building there,” he said, pointing to a building a little bit up the block.

Harry pulled into a parking spot, and looked at the building, confused. “This is Zayn’s flat.”

“Very astute,” Louis rolled his eyes. “Of course it’s his too.” He climbed out of the car, leaving Harry even more confused. Too? As they crossed the street, Harry held his tongue. He wanted to ask Louis what he meant, but he figured that he was about to find out. That and he might look like an arse if he asked. 

Zayn’s flat, or Niall’s flat, whichever, was on the second floor. Harry pressed the button for 2B and waited for Niall to yell at them to come up and buzz the door open. He climbed the stairs slowly with Louis next to him. Although it was the end of August, they’d been hit with one last heat wave and the stairway was stifling. By the time they were up to the first landing they could already hear the music coming through from Zayn/Niall’s flat. 

“I wonder if they paid off the neighbors,” Louis said as they made their way up the last set of stairs.

“They probably just invited them all,” Harry said with a laugh. “It’s not like they won’t have enough alcohol for half the city. This is Niall we are talking about.”

“That’s true.”

The door to 2B was slightly ajar and the music was pouring onto the landing. He could see Louis roll his eyes slightly before pushing the door open.

The thing was, Harry had never been inside Zayn’s flat before. He’d dropped him off once and picked him up a couple times for drinks and once en route to diffuse a bomb, but he’d never been inside. Which, come to think of it, kind of offended him a bit. He’d invited them to his place loads of times. But Q and Niall were definitely a lot more secretive.

If he had he probably wouldn’t feel like such an idiot right now.

At first, when he stepped inside it looked like somewhere Zayn would live. There was a lot of art on the walls, a few framed comic books resting on the mantelpiece. A bit of an industrial vibe. And then the Niall smacked him in the face. The clean, contemporary white furniture and lines he knew Niall liked. The football in the hall by the door. Not to mention the photos. They were everywhere.

He had never felt so stupid in his whole life. They should probably fire him because he was the worst spy ever. Really, how the hell had he missed this?

He knew he was still standing by the door with his jaw on the floor and that Louis had already made his way inside and hugged Niall. He could hear them laughing in the next room, but he couldn’t move. He was quite literally stunned.

He snapped out of it when he heard Louis call an inquisitive, “Harry?” from around the corner.

He moved slowly through the space, feeling mildly like he’d been dropped into some alternate reality where everything looked the same, but a fundamental truth he had known had been completely altered. He barely nodded to Perrie and Leigh-Anne by the couch and he didn’t even hear Ashton and Michael call his name, nor did he take in the other faces from their office. He was too lost in his thoughts, in his failure. 

When he peered into the kitchen Jade was leaning against the counters chatting with Louis and one of the other guys who worked in the lair, Luke. Niall was off to the side mixing drinks.

Harry went up behind him and gave him a little shove. Niall turned around and gave him a toothy grin.

“Alright, Harry?”

Harry reached out and gave Niall’s left nipple a twist through his shirt and whisper yelled, “You arse!”

“Ouch,” Niall said, covering his chest with his arms. “What the hell did I do?”

“You never fucking told me you were dating Zayn, that’s what you did.”

Niall started laughing, loud. “Sorry, mate, I thought you knew.”

“Don’t give me that shit,” Harry glared at him. “It all makes sense now, the comments, the evading of questions, the never letting me set you up! I can’t believe this.”

“To be fair,” Niall said, pulling out his phone and reading a text. “Your choices to set us up sucked.”

“Unbelievable!” Harry grumbled.

“Can you try to believe it later?” Niall looked up, pocketing his phone. “Zayn just texted me. He’s about 5 minutes out with Liam. Gotta turn down this party for a few.” He started to turn and then stopped. “By the way, Liam doesn’t know either.” And then he left, laughing as he turned down the music and asked everyone to be quiet. Okay, so he told them to shut their arses up, but still.

“Hey, there you are,” Louis grinned at him as Harry walked over to him, where he was still standing with Jade and Luke. That made Harry tense up. He had forgotten that he needed to watch Louis, to make sure no one blew his cover in the heat of this betrayal. Speaking of.

“Did you know Niall and Zayn were together?” he demanded in an angry whisper.

Jade and Luke started laughing while Louis just stared at him. He thought he heard Niall shush them from the other room. “Of course I did, everyone knows,” he rolled his eyes.

“Everyone?” he eyed Jade and Luke.

“Everyone, mate,” Luke clapped him on his shoulder.

“For such a great IT guy, you’re rather dense, aren’t you, love?” Jade snickered, grinning. Niall and Zayn had covertly let everyone know up in HQ what they all supposedly did, just in case it came up tonight. Everyone had had a good laugh at it. Q in IT. His lair lackeys had especially gotten a kick out of it, as was evident in Luke’s face right now.

Louis just continued to stare at him. “They are your best friends, aren’t they?”

“I’m reconsidering it.”

“They’re entering the building,” Niall called out. “Haz, get your arse out here. Don’t sulk in the kitchen just because you’re oblivious.”

“I’m also reconsidering if I should let them live,” Harry mumbled.

“Oh please,” Luke snickered. “Q would roast you alive. Without evidence.”

“Q?” Louis asked. “I can’t believe everyone else gets to call him that stupid nickname but me. Fucking Dungeons and Dragons.”

“It’s for players only,” Harry said quickly, grabbing his hand. “Come on, let’s go before Niall starts mocking me too harshly.”

He passed a look to Jade over his shoulder as he led Louis into the other room, and saw her nod discreetly. Everyone would know the cover for the nickname before Liam and Zayn even walked through the door.

“There you are,” Niall said mockingly. “I thought maybe Louis took you aside for a quickie to make up for your hurt feelings.”

Louis snickered. “That’ll come later.”

“And don’t think I’ll forget this betrayal, Niall Horan,” Harry glared at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure, now shut your mouths everyone, I think I hear them.”

The room got completely silent, which didn’t really surprise him. 90% of the attendees here were secret agents, and 9% were lair lackeys. Louis was the 1% who didn’t fit into either category. They all knew how to stay hidden and more importantly, stay undetected well.

The door opened. “SURPRISE!” Everyone shouted. Liam jumped, his hand going to his hip, where he would normally have a side arm ready. Okay, so maybe surprising a former MI6 agent and now boss of said secret spy organization wasn’t the best idea. 

It’s a good thing Zayn had promised he would disarm him before bringing him into the building.

“You tricked me,” Liam glared at Zayn over his shoulder. “I thought we were gonna go over the de--.”

“Deals,” Zayn said loudly, looking pointedly at Liam. “Yes, I did say we were going to be looking over some new tech deals, but this is way better. Happy birthday, man.”

Liam nodded, seeming to understand. There was an echo of the sentiment throughout the room. He smiled at everyone. “Thanks guys.”

He started walking in and froze, his eyes gazing over the flat and finally landing on the photos. Harry could see when it clicked. He almost started to laugh before Liam even said anything. Liam stared at the photos for a long moment. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

\---

It took Liam at least 15 minutes to calm down and probably another ten after that for everyone to stop snickering behind his back. Harry tried to get a good laugh in, but he still felt incredibly duped too. Even though he should have known, looking back it was incredibly obvious. Stupidly obvious in fact. God, who had made him a spy? He did not deserve that title right now.

The rest of the celebration was a mix of chatting and dancing while Niall played DJ at his laptop set up in the corner. Harry took it upon himself to stick to Louis’ side. Not because he wanted to be close to him, but because even though there was a memo given upon entrance, he still was wary that people wouldn’t keep up their cover, especially after a few of Niall’s special drinks.

Most of the guests were coworkers, but a few people were what Niall called “Deep Undercover,” acting as Liam’s uni friends. 

Leigh-Anne, one of these “Deep Undercovers” and Liam’s fellow “classmate” at uni, told a long, hilarious story about Liam in his first year incredibly drunk playing Pub Golf and trying to break into a golf course. Okay, so the story didn't happen in his first year of uni, but his first year at MI6, when they were both green newbies, but Louis didn't have to know that. Louis was laughing so hard Harry thought he was going to pass out. Liam did not look too pleased.

Even after she stepped away to refill her cup Louis was still having retroactive laughing spurts.

“I just,” he started, wiping under his eyes a bit. “I just can’t imagine sweet Liam attacking a groundskeeper with a blue plastic club.”

“Do you think we could get him to go golfing just to see if he would relive that experience?” He'd been there, of course, and had the video evidence to prove it, but Louis didn't have to know that either. 

“I would like to see you in some golf trousers,” Louis said with a quirk of his eyebrow. “Especially if I can take them off after.”

“I feel like this doesn't need to be pointed out, but I’m still standing here,” Liam snapped. “And no, you can't get me to relive it, and no, I don't golf anymore.”

“Blue plastic club nightmares?” Louis nodded understandingly, clapping Liam on the shoulder. Liam just glared at Harry, like this was his fault.

Harry let out a barking laugh as Zayn walked up with one of his workers in the lair, Michael.

“Hey Lou, this is my friend Michael. Michael, I’d like you to meet my best mate, Louis,” Zayn said as he slung his arm around Louis’ shoulder. 

“Hey mate,” Louis said. “Do you work with computers like these two losers?”

Harry hoped for a moment that Michael wouldn’t flinch or pause. He knew Michael wasn’t a field agent so he wasn’t going to hold it against him if his espionage skills weren’t up to scratch, much. He was sure he'd stop giving him hell about it in a week or two. Three at the most. But he hoped Zayn had reiterated how important it was anyway.

“I do work with computers, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything like what Zayn does,” he said with a laugh, exchanging a look with Harry. “I'm pretty sure I'm still only there because of my dad.”

“Shut up, I wouldn't have you on my team if you hadn't earned that spot yourself. Michael is a legacy,” Zayn explained when Louis sent him a curious look. “Like Liam. Their dads worked together in the 80’s and 90’s. They saw some pretty cool stuff.”

“I’d bet. What a really cool time to be in tech.” Louis smiled at Michael. “Your dad must have some cool stories.”

“Actually, he passed away when I was quite young,” Michael said. “An accident on the job.”

Harry knew the story well. Geoff Payne and Daryl Clifford were legends in the agency. There wasn't anything they couldn't do. Harry was pretty sure Liam had gotten the teamwork idea from them even if he'd never admit it. In a time, way before Liam’s newly implemented ideals, when agents never interacted with each other, Payne and Clifford were as close to partners as two spies could be. Or at least, they were always there as backup for the other. Most of Clifford's last mission was classified, but from what Harry had been able to find out, Clifford died during a mission he had gone on on his own, Payne having asked to stay home because Liam was sick and Karen was away visiting her mum. Clifford had died saving 14 people that day. He was a true hero. Both Michael and Liam had eventually joined MI6, hoping to follow in their fathers’ legacy.

“Oh, I'm sorry, mate,” Louis said. “Geek squad car? Did they have those then?”

Liam exchanged a quick look with Zayn. “Yes, yes they did.”

“Thanks, mate,” Michael smiled at Louis. “It's okay though. I was just a baby, I don't even remember him.” He looked at Liam. “How's your dad anyway?”

“He's good,” Liam said slowly. Harry knew Liam sometimes felt guilty, though he didn't really have anything to feel guilty about. “Tells me to tell you to come over for dinner all the time.”

“Then why is this the first I'm hearing of it?” Michael smirked.

“I've been busy running a tech company,” Liam smirked. That made Michael laugh, hard. Harry smiled to himself, while Louis look confused and Zayn looked murderous. Liam continued speaking, but he turned to Zayn. “Speaking of people too busy to tell us anything, when were you going to tell me you were dating my work wife?”

“Someone called for me?” Niall appeared at Harry’s side.

“I don't think anyone’s said your name in like 30 minutes, Niall,” Louis laughed. 

“I didn't think so,” Niall shrugged. “But I hear work wife and I come running.”

“You might want to run and save yourself this time, mate,” Michael said. “Liam is about to lay it on your boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Niall said, starting to turn. “Yeah, I definitely don't want to be here for this.”

“Not so fast,” Liam grabbed his shirt. “Niall Horan, how could you do this to me?”

“Forget Liam, how could you do this to me?” Harry couldn't help but add. 

Louis rolled his eyes. “I find it utterly disgraceful that you two call yourselves their best friends and you didn't know they were together. No scratch that, I find it highly embarrassing for both of you that you have eyes and you didn't know they were together.”

Harry and Liam both let out identical affronted protests, but Louis waved them off.

“See, it’s your own damn fault,” Zayn said. He turned to walk away and Niall followed him into the kitchen, cackling.

Louis turned to Harry and Liam, “I want you both to know that I am both embarrassed and ashamed of you.” 

He gave Harry a soft pat on the shoulder before following Niall and Zayn out of the room.

Liam turned to Michael and then Harry and asked, “What just happened?”

Harry gave a small shrug and Michael said, “I think they’ve been pranking you both for like two years and neither of you realized it.”

Harry and Liam just looked at each other for a minute. Then Harry said, “Well, at least I found out before you and wasn't last. That would have been embarrassing.”

And then he left before Liam could shoot him.

\---

“I guess I forgive you now for lying to me for all this years,” Harry said as he gratefully reached for the coffee cup Niall handed him.

Niall rolled his eyes. “We didn't lie. It's not our fault you're so dense.”

Harry chose to ignore that, instead needing the caffeine. He wondered if Niall knew a place he could get it straight through an IV. Knowing Niall, probably.

“While I too am flabbergasted by your deceit,” Liam glared at Niall and then Zayn, which made Harry feel a little too gleeful but it just made him a tiny bit happy every time that signature glare wasn't directed at him. “We have more serious matters to attend to. Q, report.”

Zayn handed each of them a paper, which Harry looked over quickly. It was a list of the cities bombed as well as their components and methods. Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Chicago, Sydney. He grimaced as he read it. The fact that this many cities had been hit was their failure, his failure. 

“I finished analyzing the bomb fragments from the Sydney attack. It fits the profile. No signature on the bomb, similar components. But something is odd about it. The only difference is that there is no difference.”

“What do you mean?” Liam asked.

“Look at the components,” Zayn said. “In all the other attacks, the bombs were similar but there was just enough differences to make me think it was a trial and error thing. Each bomb was similar enough to the last one, though the method was different. There was different variables, different amounts of C4 or different materials. There is no difference in this one. It's the same method as the Buenos Aires bomb and the same components as the Chicago bomb.”

“So they finished their trial and error.” Harry said, dread filling his gut.

“I believe so, yes,” Zayn nodded. “It looks like they're just perfecting it now?”

“But for what purpose?” Niall asked. “This is obviously part of some bigger plot. If they're testing different bombs, they have a bigger game plan. So what is it?”

“That's what we need to find out,” Liam sighed. He looked at Harry. “Did you find out anything about the list we found in Louis’ flat?”

“I did,” Harry sat up straighter as he took over. “I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing though. The list is the members of the staff at the convention center with full backgrounds.”

“I’d say that's definitely bad, Haz,” Niall rolled his eyes. 

Harry threw his pen at him. “Combined with the blueprints Jesy found of the convention center, I'd say we have our next target.” He looked sympathetically at Zayn. “And it looks like Louis is involved.”

Zayn clenched his fist, but didn't say anything. Harry felt for the guy, knowing this couldn't be easy. Hell, it sucked even for him, and he hadn't known Louis half as long as Zayn. 

“So what's our next move?” Niall asked, reaching over to squeeze Zayn’s hand. It made Harry a little frustrated with himself. How had he not seen it before? They were so a couple.

Liam thought about it for a moment. “H, we need a list of upcoming events for the convention center. We’ll have to figure out the date first. This is top priority now. We may finally be able to get a step ahead of them.”

“This has to be enough evidence to surveillance the PM himself now,” Harry said. 

“Until we find solid evidence there is in fact a planned bombing in the convention center, we can't say for sure. It could actually be for security to an upcoming event, so we can't investigate him yet,” Liam sighed, standing up, clearly dismissing them.

“Who made that stupid rule anyway?” Niall grumbled as they stood and grabbed their stuff.

“I believe it was the PM,” Liam said sadly.

“Of course it was.”

\---

Jeff had started to sit in on the Wednesday meetings. He'd been slinking in and out of the office for the last couple weeks, but Liam thought if there really was a mole, the presence of the CIA might trip them up a bit. When he walked in for the first time, all conversation immediately stopped. Harry had come in early specifically to be there when it happened. Liam had called for an all hands on deck situation so he dragged himself out of bed early, gave Louis a kiss on the head and whispered ‘early meeting.’ Because sleepovers in the middle of the week were something they did now. 

Harry noticed Jade and Perrie reach towards their guns. Michael and Luke stopped their argument over whether a watch powered by the user’s pulse would be beneficial to the agents. Harry tried to pretend that nothing weird had happened at all. 

And he had to give it to Jeff because he acted as if he belonged. He sat in the chair to the right of Harry, giving him a pat on the shoulder and a nod as he did so. 

Liam walked in right then and it pulled most of the agents’ attention away from Jeff. A few still stared. Harry mentally kept track of who. Leigh-Anne. Walsh. Luke. Winston. Cara. 

It didn’t mean anything, but it was a start.

“Good morning,” Liam said, addressing the room from the front. Whereas people usually murmured responses and leaned back in the chairs, ready for a twenty minute talk, everyone seemed to sit up straighter. “If you haven't already noticed, we have a guest for the foreseeable future. Please give a warm welcome to special agent Jeff Azoff of the CIA.”

There was a smattering of light applause and ‘hellos’ from around the room. Harry saw Jeff give a slight nod of his head in acknowledgement. 

“What's he working on,” Winston said. “Whose mission is the CIA taking over?”

Jeff cleared his throat as if to speak, but Liam did instead. 

“That isn't something you need to concern yourself with, SA Winston,” Liam said sternly. He paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words settle over the group and then opened his mouth to continue speaking, but he was cut off.

“I thought we were all a team here,” Walsh muttered sarcastically. 

Niall let out a small tsk under his breath in their direction and Zayn looked ready to fight. Harry was holding his tongue, he so badly wanted to curse him out, but he knew this was Liam's battle to fight. 

He almost felt bad for Jeff being stuck in the middle of these workplace politics. Almost. He still didn't forget what Jeff had tried to insinuate on their trip to Sydney.

“Special Agent Azoff does not report to me, so his missions are between himself and the director of the CIA, but you do, Walsh, and if I say you need not concern yourself, then mind that and focus on your own tasks.”

Harry wanted to stand and applaud. He almost was going to, but Niall put his hand on Harry's arm as if to stop him. He always knew. Damn the little Irishman.

The rest of the room seemed to take a collective gasp and there was a new tension. Liam had never put anyone in their place like that, at least not in the meeting. But for Harry, it was amazing. Walsh was probably shitting himself.

In comparison, the rest of the meeting was rather uneventful. When it wrapped up a half hour later everyone left still seemingly in a daze. There wasn't chatting and laughing like usual. Everyone walked quietly out until only himself, Jeff, Niall, Zayn and Liam were left. 

“That was incredible,” Zayn said to Liam. 

“Incredibly overdue,” Niall added. 

“I probably shouldn't have spoken to him like that,” Liam said bashfully. 

“He's lucky you haven't before,” Harry said.

“He was out of line anyway,” Jeff added. 

“You should have punched him,” Harry said. Niall laughed and high fived him for that.

Liam glared at him. “Is there anything else we need to be updated on?”

Harry was about to speak when Jeff began talking. “I know you're working on it, but it's been a couple weeks already and I have nothing to tell my superiors. I need to give them something, they are putting pressure on me for results.”

“I understand, Jeff,” Liam said. “We've put as much on this as we can afford to right now. We have to be discreet.”

“While I know that, they don't. I need something to give them, some evidence or something,” Jeff turned to look at each of them. “Or else they might send someone else. Or worse, go above all of our heads.”

And that would be bad. So far Liam had kept the majority of their findings from all other supervision, but a direct inquiry would be bad for their investigation as well for Liam's command. And the CIA wasn't usually worried about collateral damage. They'd deny any involvement anyway.

“You'll need to go down with Zayn to the lab,” Liam said. He turned to Zayn. “See if you can compile some of the bomb analyses as well as information on Lucas Boring, but black out his name and occupation. If they ask for the redactions let them know they can speak with me directly.”

Zayn nodded and left the room with Jeff. Once the door closed behind them, Liam let out a long breath. 

“How can it not even be 10 am yet?”

“Cheer up, boss!” Niall said. “Winston just had his arse handed to him and it was spectacular.”

“We can go for an early lunch,” Harry said with an eyebrow wiggle. “A liquid lunch.”

Liam let out a laugh. “Maybe later. There's too much left to do today. And I need to see you in my office this afternoon, H.”

“Aye aye, boss,” Harry said, giving him a small salute. Liam leveled him with a look before shooing them out of the conference room, telling them both to get back to work. 

\---

“Am I in trouble?” Harry asked Niall as he stopped by his desk on the way to Liam. He had been a bit nervous for the past couple of hours since Liam had messaged him for a private meeting at 4. He figured it was probably about the case, but they'd all already met about it. He could have brought it up then. God, maybe he was going to actually finally shoot him. Had he done something he couldn't remember?

“My lips are sealed,” Niall smirked at him.

Harry glared at him. “Some team player you are.”

“I'm an excellent team player,” Niall scoffed. “Also, you are about to be late. You should probably get in there before he shoots you.”

“So the shooting is still up in the air?” Harry gulped. 

“If he does shoot you, I promise I'll say something really nice at your funeral,” Niall said casually, turning back to his computer.

“Thanks,” Harry grumbled before heading into Liam’s office. He knocked and opened the door. “You wanted to see me, M?”

Liam was looking over some papers. He didn't look up when Harry spoke. “Come in and close the door, 007.”

007\. Oh crap. He closed the door and walked over to settle in the seat across from Liam. He was too calm, looking at his papers. Oh god, he was going to get shot. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! I'll make it up to you, I swear.”

That made Liam pause and look up, a slightly amused look on his face. “For what exactly?”

“Um,” Harry said. “Whatever I did to get me in trouble?”

He heard Niall laugh over the intercom, because of course he was listening. Liam laughed too. And then he did something that actually scared Harry more than anything else. He turned off the intercom. There was very little that Liam didn't let Niall listen into. Whatever this was, it was serious.

“I think I have another in,” Liam said, putting his papers down and sliding a folder over to him. Okay, that was definitely not what he had expected. 

He eyed the folder warily. “I'm not in trouble, am I?”

“Did you do something that would cause me to shoot you?” Liam smirked.

“I don't think so?” Harry said, unsure.

“For fuck’s sake, Haz, look at the folder,” Liam rolled his eyes. 

That calmed Harry a bit. He picked up the folder and quickly looked through it. It was a picture and background check of a woman, Cheryl Cole. He'd never heard of her. “She's pretty,” Harry said carefully, not sure where this was going. 

“Yes, she is,” Liam agreed easily. “She's also the Home Secretary of the UK.”

Oh. That made sense. Liam had said he had another in. Apparently that in was a member of Cowell’s cabinet. “I think it'll be too difficult to get away with this. What if Louis sees? If he breaks up with me, thinking I'm cheating on him, this whole operation is over.”

Liam laughed once. “This in isn't for you. You may be my best agent, but you're not the only person capable of undercover work around here.”

Harry was confused again. “Then who?”

Liam took a deep breath. “Me.”

He laughed. He couldn't help it. He laughed, and he laughed hard at that. Liam glared at him.

“You won't be laughing when I put a bullet through your kneecap.”

That sobered him up quick. “Sorry, but um, Liam, are you sure you're the best person for this? I mean, she's pretty, yeah, but you haven't been a field agent in a while. You've gone all bureaucrat.”

“That doesn't mean I'm soft or stupid,” Liam rolled his eyes. “I am more than capable of this. Besides, we don't really have a choice. We can't afford to bring anyone else into this, and Niall, as helpful as he may be, is not a field agent, and don't get me started on Q. He wouldn't leave his lab even if I asked.”

There was something in his tone at that. Harry looked at him curiously. “You asked him already, didn't you?”

“Yes, but that is besides the point!” Liam snapped. “The point is I am more than capable of this. I wasn't always M and I didn't always sit behind this desk, if you remember.”

Of course he did. Once upon a time, okay, a few years ago, before Liam had been promoted to M, he had basically been Harry’s partner. Okay, so partner was used loosely. Before Liam, there was no real team. Everyone pretty much worked alone for security reasons. But Liam was always the person he called when he needed backup, much like Liam’s and Michael’s dads had done. Liam was good, one of the best, though it wasn't really surprising. Liam was born for this. That was why it hadn’t really surprised him when their old M retired and Liam was offered the position over many senior agents.

“This is your in,” Harry said quietly, hoping Liam understood his silent acceptance.

“This is my in,” Liam smiled gratefully. “We need to get this intel now. We've already let this go on long enough. CIA is pressuring us, and no one wants them to become involved. But first and foremost, I refuse to let even one more person die because of this terrorist.”

Harry nodded. He understood that. He felt the same way. “What do you need from me?”

“You need to put in overtime, Haz. We need to find out Louis’ connection to this and just how far in our government this goes. And we need to know yesterday.”

Harry sighed. He was trying, but Louis wasn't giving him anything. “What do you want me to do, M? Ask him to move in?”

“If that's what it takes, 007,” Liam said solemnly. “If that's what it takes.”

Harry nodded slowly, and then smirked. “If I get an invitation to a wedding, I am going to shoot you.”

Liam glared at him. “Get out.”

“Seriously, do you know how many rules you're breaking here? I mean have you even read the handbook?” 

“I'm going to shoot you now and save us all the misery,” Liam said.

Harry laughed and stood up. “I'll get you a copy of that handbook, M. Let you brush up on the do’s and don’t’s of undercover work. But if there is a wedding, I call best man.”

And then he ran out before Liam could shoot him.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Louis was bent over with his mouth wide open laughing so hard his belly hurt. He could feel tears stinging the corner of his eyes and he could barely breathe around the laughs he was squeezing out.

Harry was absolutely covered in globs of meringue, white blobs slipping down his cheek and staining his clothes and it was hilarious. He had a pout on his lips and it looked like he was having trouble controlling the smile on his face.

Harry had been in the middle of teaching Louis to cook and Louis had sworn up and down he could do it. It probably wasn’t his fault, in fact he blamed the bowl for the first bit of meringue that flew out and hit Harry in the cheek. Louis couldn’t help that he was just so overpowered the bowl couldn’t handle it. 

He would take responsibility for smearing the rest of the bowl all over Harry’s body. 

He was leaning over, supporting himself on the edge of the counter, still wheezing slightly around his laughs. “You look like that scene in Ghostbusters.”

“Covered in the exploded stay puft marshmallow,” Harry said sticking his arms out in front of him and letting out a deep growl. He took a step forward and his foot slipped on a gooey bit on the floor and he tipped forward comically far before overcorrecting and landing hard on his arse. 

Louis doubled over again, slapping his knee as he let out a loud cackling laugh. He took a few steps toward Harry laughing the whole way, so hard barely any sound was coming out. 

He tried to speak. “Are you-” he let out a breathy laugh, high pitched and squeaking, “-okay?”

He felt Harry’s fingers on his ankle and he looked down, past tears in his eyes and saw a hand reaching up. He let out a high pitched squeak as Harry pulled him onto the tile with him, or rather, so that he was straddling Harry. Louis’ hands landed on either side of Harry’s head, landing in the stick and warm meringue. 

“You’ve got a bit,” Harry pressed a sticky finger into his cheek with a stupid grin, “right there.”

“Oh I do?” Louis smiled brightly at Harry with a wicked glint in his eye.

Harry’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, “Let me just get it for you.” He leaned forward, bracing his other hand against Louis’ neck to pull him down a bit, and licked at the side of Louis’ cheek, sucking at the meringue. Once he was sure he got it all, he moved down the side of his jaw, leaving a blazing trail along Louis’ skin. 

“You’re very thorough,” Louis murmured before Harry roughly turned his face into a kiss. He let Harry kiss him deeply, easily allowing himself to fall into Harry, his skin turning warm and tingly each time Harry pulled at Louis’ bottom lip, each time their tongues ran slowly against each other. 

“I want to make sure I get it all,” Harry mumbled as his lips moved to Louis’ ear, nibbling on his earlobe.

Louis whimpered. “I don't think I got meringue there.”

Harry hummed softly as his hands moved to the hem of Louis’ shirt, tugging it up. Louis sat up slightly, trying not to whimper at the loss of Harry’s lips as he pulled off his shirt. Louis didn't have to wait too long, however, before Harry pulled him down again to leave hot open mouthed kisses along his neck, licking off the sweet meringue. He moaned when Harry sucked a hard bruise on his collarbone. “I definitely don't think there was any there,” he couldn't help but say as he felt Harry’s hard cock press into his backside. He liked where this was going.

Harry didn't say anything to that, clearly having no desire to pretend this was anything besides what it was. Instead, Harry thrust his hips up into him, letting Louis feel just how hard he was getting. Louis pulled Harry up, tugging him by the hair to attach their lips again, kissing him deep and dirty. He could get lost in this, he realized, in Harry, and this feeling. And he wouldn't even mind it.

Harry’s hands were warm and sticky on Louis’ hips. Louis took to grinding his body down onto Harry’s lap slowly, relishing in the feeling of Harry’s cock firm and straining in his trousers. Louis couldn’t help the moan that slipped out when their lips separated. He kept his hands tangled in Harry’s hands and pulled his head slightly to the side so Harry’s lips could suck on his neck again. 

Louis could feel his heart hammering in his chest and he loved how worked up Harry could get him. He continued to slowly grind down on Harry and he knew it was having an effect because Louis could feel the small moans Harry was making against the base of his neck. Harry’s left arm snaked around Louis’ back, and pulled Louis even tighter against his chest. Harry pushed the other hand behind him to brace himself against the floor.

Louis arched into Harry’s chest, rubbing his clothed cock against Harry’s stomach. The force of it seemed to push them backwards, Harry’s hand slipping in the meringue and landing Harry hard on his back. 

Louis couldn’t help the giggle that burst out of his lips. Harry was laughing into his neck.

“Maybe we should go wash off?” Louis suggested, still giggling and panting.

Harry leaned forward and gave Louis’ neck another nip before tightening his arms around Louis’ waist. Louis couldn’t help the small grind of his hips. Harry let his arm fall down and Louis very nearly whimpered.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up,” Harry said with a wicked grin. Louis swallowed hard. 

He stood up on shaking legs and offered Harry a hand when he was sure he wasn’t about to fall over. Louis was so hard he could barely think straight. 

Once Harry was standing, he pulled Louis back against his chest and pressed a hard kiss against his lips. Harry’s skimmed down over his bum and then pulled on his legs for a moment before Louis got the hint. He let Harry pull him up and wrapped his legs around Harry’s waist. 

Louis didn't usually like being carried like this, but as Harry walked them back through the bedroom to the bathroom, his lips leaving hot kisses along Louis’ neck, Louis found he didn't quite mind. Harry placed him down on his feet in front of the shower, pulling away slightly to undo Louis’ trousers before pulling his own clothes off. Louis ran his hand down Harry’s chest, his thumb flicking Harry’s nipple. 

Harry moaned softly before he stepped forward again and kissed him, his arms wrapping around Louis’ hips as he walked him backwards into the shower. Louis was silent as Harry moved one hand to turn on the tap, watching as the water cascaded down Harry’s chest. Louis was not ashamed to admit he had had many, many dirty dreams about this. He reached up to move Harry’s wet hair out of his face. Harry closed his eyes at the touch, a soft smile coming to his lips. Yeah, he was perfect.

Louis stepped forward and mouthed at Harry’s collarbone, licking away the droplets that fell there as he rubs his hard cock against Harry’s. Harry groaned softly and opened his eyes, looking at Louis with such heat it made Louis shiver in anticipation. Harry stepped forward, crowding him, his hands gripping Louis’ hips as he walked them back, pressing Louis into the shower wall. Louis winced slightly at the cold tile of the shower wall, but then he was consumed by the heat radiating off Harry’s body. He whimpered softly as he felt Harry grind against his cock, his lips attaching to Louis’ ear again, his teeth and tongue nipping away at his skin.

“I'm going to clean you off good, babe,” Harry whispered into Louis’ ear before he kissed down his neck, then lower to his chest, Harry’s teeth catching on Louis’ nipple. Louis sucked in a breath as Harry twirled his tongue around the nub for a moment before he moved further down, leaving hot kisses on his skin. 

Louis stood mesmerized, watching Harry on his knees before him, the water falling onto his back, though he didn't seem to notice or mind. It was when Harry leaned forward and licked along the head of his cock that Louis’ breath hitched. Of course, fucking Harry was staring up at him, his eyes feigning innocence as if he didn't know exactly what he did to Louis. 

Harry licked at his cock again, first at the head and then along the underside of it, and Louis knew he was in for torture as his licks remained firm and slow, tantalizingly slow. He moaned when Harry took Louis’ cock deep into his mouth, not bothering to ease into it. Because Harry was so fucking good at this, making Louis come apart. Louis’ head hit the wall as Harry began sucking him, his mouth warm and tight around him. God, it felt so good. He knew if he died like this, exactly like this, sure, it might be embarrassing for his mum and all, but he'd be happy. 

Louis tugged at Harry’s hair as his lips involuntarily thrust forward, seeking the warmth of Harry’s mouth. Harry sucked cock like a fucking champ, using his tongue and his lips and his teeth. God. Louis felt the pleasure of it all radiating through him, bringing him closer and closer to the edge. Harry was gripping his arse cheeks, his fingers pressing near Louis’ hole, pulling him further into Harry’s mouth, and fuck, that felt good.

Louis was so close now, he pulled Harry’s hair a bit too roughly, and then almost cried when Harry pulled his cock out of his mouth with a pop. Harry was smirking at him, still with the innocent eyes as he looked up at Louis, and Louis swore to God he was going to punch him.

“Have to get you all cleaned up,” Harry said, that smirk glaring up at him. He stood up and kissed Louis, and because Louis was so gone for this boy, Louis didn't even bite him, much.

Harry gently pulled Louis forward, turning them so Louis was standing below the falling water with his back to Harry. And okay, maybe Louis would have protested if Harry hadn't taken shampoo and started massaging it through Louis’ hair. Louis moaned at the feeling, letting himself sag slightly back against Harry’s chest. It wasn't as good as the blowjob, but it was pretty damn close. If possible, his pulse had quickened with how gentle Harry was being. He was swaying with the realization of how intimate it was. Harry nudged him forward to rinse out the shampoo from Louis’ hair, and Louis placed his head back on Harry’s chest as the latter then took the soap to lather him up. He was really serious about getting him clean, wasn't he? Well, Louis could still feel Harry’s hard cock against his bum, and he was really hoping Harry dirtied him up again after this, or he was going to have to punch him.

He was not disappointed when Harry pressed kisses along his neck, tilting Louis’ head to the side, and grinding his cock against Louis’ bum. With Harry surrounding him like this, and the water falling over him, it was overwhelming to say the least. He needed more. “Fuck me,” he moaned. “Fuck, please, Harry.”

Harry just groaned in response as he turned Louis around, attaching their lips and licking into Louis’ mouth. Harry pulled him hard against his chest, his hands kneading Louis’ bum, spreading his cheeks. Louis felt the water hit directly at his hole, and God, he wanted more. He wanted Harry to open him up and fuck him hard. Harry, it seemed, intended to do just that. 

Louis actually growled when Harry suddenly released him, stepping back. “Be right back,” Harry grinned, pecking at his lips. Louis let out a whimper. 

Louis was going to kill him, painfully and slowly, and told him this loudly too. Harry stepped out of the shower, and Louis didn't move for a second. He let out a sigh of relief when Harry stepped back in, a bottle of lube in his hand and a condom on his cock. He wasn't going to leave him this hard and wanting then. Good, then he wouldn't have to kill him. Harry pulled Louis into his arms again, licking into his mouth. He heard the bottle pop open, and moaned in anticipation at what was about to happen.

“You’re killing me,” Louis grumbled as Harry pushed Louis into the wall again, pulling one of Louis’ legs around his waist. 

Harry snickered as his lubed up finger circled Louis’ hole. “My deepest apologies,” Harry said when Louis sucked in a breath, his hands reaching up to tangle into Harry’s hair.

“Just get on with it already,” Louis said, his eyes fluttering closed. He felt Harry kiss his lips again as he pushed a finger into Louis. God, that was exactly what he needed. He moaned as Harry started thrusting his finger in and out, opening him up. Louis’ head hit the wall and he tugged hard at Harry’s wet hair when he felt Harry press another finger in. This was going to be quick, he knew. He was so hard, and he could feel Harry was hard too against his stomach. The steam of the shower was filling his lungs and making everything so warm and so wet around him. 

Harry was licking into his mouth again as he fucked him with two fingers, scissoring them nicely, though he was careful to avoid the spot Louis needed him most. So maybe not so quick then.

“Fuck,” Louis whimpered when he felt Harry’s finger just barely graze against his prostate. “Come on, Harold. I'm ready.”

“Okay, okay, yeah,” Harry said, his voice rough and full of desire as he removed his fingers slowly. He pulled back slightly, and rubbed more lube on his cock before he pulled Louis’ other leg up, wrapping it around his waist, and rubbed his cock between Louis’ cheeks. 

Louis moaned loudly when the tip of Harry’s cock caught on his hole. Louis couldn't fucking breathe, he was so consumed by Harry. He couldn't help but bite at Harry’s neck as Harry finally, finally pushed into him. “Fuck, you feel so good,” Harry moaned as he pressed further into him. “So tight, babe.”

Louis couldn't respond. He was too gone with the feel of Harry’s cock inside his arse. He felt so full, so right. And he wanted more. He tried to push himself down further on Harry’s cock, which made Harry chuckle. “Don't worry, Lou. I know what you need.”

“Then fucking give --” He was cut off as Harry pushed himself into the hilt. Louis moaned loudly as Harry started fucking him, finding his prostate easily with a thrust or two, and hitting him there with every pull of his hips. Yes, this was definitely what he needed. He felt engulfed by Harry, surrounded as he was, and he fucking loved it. He threw his head back against the tile, wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck and tangled his hands into Harry’s hair. He went all but limp with pleasure. 

Harry didn't seem to be faring much better as he had leaned forward and pressed his face into Louis’ neck, his hot breath blowing over Louis’ skin as he fucked into him with hard and sure thrusts. It was just right, and the pleasure was almost too much, almost. Louis knew he was getting close again pretty quickly. He couldn't help it, not when Harry was fucking into him like this, and the water cascading on them just made the feeling even more pleasurable. 

“Fuck, Harry,” he moaned. He couldn't take it. It was just so fucking good, the tip of Harry’s penis hitting surely into his prostate. He tugged at Harry’s hair as he came untouched on their stomachs. Harry kept fucking him, making him ride the high as long as he could. And fuck if it didn't still feel amazing. Louis kissed Harry languidly, letting Harry take from him what he needed. He knew Harry was getting close too as his thrusts got sloppier. 

“Lou,” Harry breathed out, releasing his lips and burning his face into Louis’ neck as he shuddered through his orgasm. 

Louis held him close until Harry had calmed down, and then felt Harry slip out of him. Slowly, Louis put his feet down as Harry leaned back slightly, a content smile on his face. Louis smirked. “Guess you'll have to wash me again.”

Harry snickered and leaned in to kiss him softly. “I'm okay with that.”

 

\---

It was a slow day, which Harry definitely did not like. He'd already been to the lair and tried out a new weapon, and he'd already visited Niall twice. But Louis was at work, and he didn't have any other missions at the moment. Plus, he'd already reviewed the recordings from the tap on Louis, nothing useful today. The convention hadn't even come up once. Maybe they were using code. He'd have to listen again, look for code words.

He was lost in thought as he made his way back from the coffee machine. And so, he didn't notice Walsh and Winston walking towards him. That is, until the latter bumped his shoulder into his, hard.

“What the fuck?” He demanded as he shook the hot spilled coffee off his hand, his newly filled cup on the floor. “Seriously, Winston?”

“You should watch where you're going, Styles,” Winston snapped.

“That is such BS,” Harry rolled his eyes. “You saw me walking here. The hallway is big enough even for your big head. If you two nobodies wanted to start something, you should have just said. I don't really need a reason to want to kick your arse.”

Walsh laughed. “Why would we ever start anything with MI6’s golden boy now?”

“Now? What's that supposed to mean?” He glared at them, clenching his fists. He was trying really, really hard not to sock them both in the face. 

“It means come back to us when your pretty boy BFF isn't watching over your shoulder,” Winston smirked.

That stopped Harry for a moment. They obviously meant Liam. It was no secret that there wasn't anyone these two hated more than Liam, after the more experienced Walsh got passed over for M in favor of Liam. Which in turn meant Winston wasn't the number 1 agent in the agency, getting assigned the best cases. But what did they mean right now? Were they preparing for a near future where Liam wasn’t around? 

It all came rushing back to him, the fear of a mole, the certainty that someone was going against them, possibly from within the agency itself. He had vetted the two because they were in his presence when the bomb in Chicago went off. But looking at it now, it made sense. They wouldn't have had to have been there to be the leak. Mobile phones and texting made covert communications so easy.

If that was the case, he didn't want to let them know he was onto them.

“I don't need Liam watching over me to take both of you on,” he said, pretending he hadn't had this major revelation in the span of thirty seconds. “But you might need him to watch over you if you continue to get in my way.”

Winston scoffed. “We’ll see about that.”

He looked at Walsh and the two walked away, glaring at him as they left. Harry watched them turn the corner before taking out his phone. He quickly dialed Niall. “Hey. What's the policy on tapping into fellow agents’ communications?” He asked quickly when Niall answered.

“With proper cause, it's allowed, though generally frowned upon,” Niall answered immediately. “Which you'd know if you'd read the handbook.”

“Please, you haven't read it either, you just happen to know everything,” Harry rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face.

“That I do,” Niall agreed easily. “Why, who do you want to tap?”

“No one in particular,” Harry said. He didn't want to reveal what he suspected right away, especially not on the phone. “Just a hypothetical question for a hypothetical situation.”

“Right, and does this hypothetical situation have cause?” 

“It hypothetically definitely does.”

Niall sighed. “Just don't get caught. Technically, we can do it, but agents don't usually take kindly to being under surveillance.”

“Thanks, Niall. Hypothetically, I'll be discreet.” He hung up and headed to his office. He had a couple phone taps to place, hypothetically, of course.

\---

“Then she dumped the ink cartridges on my desk and ran out of there,” Louis laughed as he finished telling him about the crazy thing Jesy had done in the office yesterday.

Harry laughed with him. It was funny how good of a spy Jesy was and yet she was utterly the clumsiest person. He was pretty sure she was only playing it up the smallest amount to entertain Louis. “Did you get in trouble?”

“No, I threw them in my desk drawer before anyone could see,” Louis said, taking a sip of his tea as he rolled his eyes. “What do you think I am, an amateur?”

“My mistake, you, of course, are the master,” Harry smirked.

“Too bloody right,” Louis nodded as he picked at his scone. He looked up from the cake and seemed to sit up a little straighter, but the easy smile remained on his face. 

“So,” he began, but then paused. 

“What’s up?” Harry asked. He reached out and tangled in fingers with Louis’. He felt Louis give him a short squeeze.

“So, I have to ask you something.”

“Yes, this is my real hair,” Harry said. Louis barely even smiled for that one. Okay, so it was serious. “Was that it?”

“I had been wondering, but no,” Louis replied. “You remember a couple weeks ago when we made this whole dating thing official?”

“Yeah of course, you aren’t regretting that already, are you?” Harry asked. He was pretty sure Louis wasn’t, but he’d have to be ready to fight for him if necessary. He just told Liam he’d take it to the next level, so it wouldn’t be good for his mission to have a hiccup already. 

“No, don’t be an idiot,” Louis scoffed, and then let out a chuckle. “No, my family had come into town that day and when they asked about you I was scared shitless.”

“Ah, yes, I do remember that,” Harry smiled and pulled their joined hands up to his mouth for a quick kiss, which earned him a smile from Louis.

“Well they are coming for another visit, Fizzy has got to move into her new flat and the whole brood is coming down,” Louis paused. “I’d really like if you came with us.”

“You would?” Harry asked. The vulnerability in the statement was only partially fake. 

“Yeah,” Louis said softly. “Plus, my mum is insisting.”

Oh. Harry blinked. Several times. Harry had listened to several conversations Louis had with his mum and usually she remarked at least once, and often more, about his new boyfriend and how much she’d like to meet him. Harry hadn’t given it much thought actually, since last time Louis had been so dismissive of it. But now Louis wanted to introduce him to his mother. They were there then. To Louis, they were serious. Which posed a new problem for Harry. 

He was asking him to meet his family. His family. Harry had never really done the whole meet the parents thing by choice, he was never around long enough for that. Of course, all his friends’ parents loved him, and the few times he'd been cornered into meeting a lover’s parents, he did very well. But this was Louis, and this was serious. He was asking him to take that step. He had been a little hurt that Louis hadn't wanted him to meet his family last time, for the sake of the mission of course, but this time, it was an actuality. Whether he was ready or not, it was necessary. Louis’ boyfriend, the Harry he was pretending to be, was ready for this.

“I’d love to meet your family,” Harry said, putting an easy smile on his face, flashing his dimples. “But full warning, mothers love me, usually more than their own kids. Don't be surprised if she wants to trade you in for me.”

Louis snorted. “You may have the dimples, Styles, but I'm willing to take my chances.” 

“We shall see.”

“So what about your family? Do they all have that hair and those dimples? If so I don’t think I’d make it through meeting them without fainting.”

“My family?” Harry tensed, though not visibly. “They're in America.”

He wasn't sure where Louis’ allegiance lay yet, though the signs did not look good. But if he didn't even tell some of his friends about his family, well anyone besides the boys really, there was no way he was going to put them in danger by telling a potential terrorist how close they actually were.

“And you're here all by your lonesome,” Louis patted his hand. His phone went off and he quickly checked it. “Shit, I have to go.” He leaned forward and kissed him quickly. “I'll see you after work?”

Harry nodded. “You're coming over, right?” 

He needed him at his place tonight, because Luke and Michael were going to be break in and place the video feeds in Louis’ flat.

“Yup, see you around 6.” Louis grabbed his stuff and ran off, leaving Harry watching after him. 

Harry waited until he was out of sight to start freaking out. He was going to meet Louis’ family. His boyfriend’s family. Okay, so it was just a mission, but Louis didn't know that, and his mother didn't know that. Shit, he was screwed. Had he ever met parents before? Had he ever met any family before? Fuck, how was he going to do this? God, he was going to see where a terrorist came from! Okay, he could handle this. He had to.

He quickly dialed Niall, who picked up after the second ring.

“Go for Horan,” his voice came through the phone.

That made Harry pause for a second. “That was a lame greeting.”

“Your face is a lame greeting,” Niall said. “What do you need, Styles, I'm a busy man.”

Oh right. “I need everything you can possibly find on Louis’ family. ASAP.”

“Family?” Niall repeated. “Wait, hang on. H, are you meeting his family?”

“Shut it, I don't have time for this,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Please, Niall, just help me.”

Niall laughed. “I can't wait to tell Zayn this.”

Oh crap, he hadn't even thought of Zayn. Q was going to kill him. “Is there anyway we can not tell him?” He tried.

Niall snorted. “No, there isn't. I'm not keeping anything about Louis from him again. I was already in the doghouse once. I do not want to go back, thanks.”

“Fine,” Harry sighed. “Now, are you gonna help me or not?”

“Of course I am,” he replied. Harry knew he was probably rolling his eyes. “You'll have a packet on your desk by the time you get in. I'm guessing you need a more detailed outline than the last one, have to impress them and all.”

“Thanks, Niall, and shut up,” he hung up and stood. Okay, he could do this. Meet Louis’ family. He'd get all the information to make them love him from Niall, and then they'd never see him again. He could be an actual, perfect boyfriend for a day. He had this. He had to.

\--

“It's not that big of a deal, Niall,” Harry said for the hundredth time. They were once again sitting in Liam’s office, waiting for Zayn to begin their update meeting. He didn't really have much more to report in. It had been a quiet week on the Louis front, but maybe Q had something. 

“You're meeting his family, that's a huge deal,” Niall exclaimed. 

“Liam did say to take it to the next level,” Harry reminded him. 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Liam snapped. “Getting closer to him and meeting his family are two whole different levels. Meeting his family is the serious boyfriend level.”

“I'm not really his boyfriend. This isn't real,” Harry said.

“It better not be,” Liam added, glaring at him.

Niall, of course, ignored Liam. “But he doesn't know that! He's expecting you to be all dimples and charm and make his family love you. Oh my God, what if his mum hates you? You think she’ll make him break up with you?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Mums love me.”

“Too much, sometimes,” Liam shuddered, probably thinking about the many times they'd been out together and older women had hit on Harry.

“I've met Jay, she's lovely, I'm sure you'll be fine,” Niall said. “But just in case, make sure you get Lottie to love you. She’ll fight for you if Jay tries to get Louis to break up with you. She's a fiery one.”

“Thanks, but I'm good, Niall, really,” Harry said. “I'm not worried.”

Thankfully, he was saved from Niall’s response, probably about how he’d had to get him a packet on Louis’ family, but okay he was good, when Zayn walked in.

“Sorry, I'm late, I had to prep Michael,” he said, walking in.

Harry snickered at the word prep. 

“You’re a child,” Liam said, rolling his eyes. “Can you be a grown up for a few minutes though? Or is that too much to ask?”

“Probably,” Niall commented.

Harry smacked him upside his head. “I'm always an adult, I'll have you know. I'm just waiting for Q to start.”

They all rolled their eyes at that one. “Anyway,” Zayn said, taking a seat on the other side of Niall. “Any new information?”

“I was hoping you'd have some,” Harry admitted. “It's been quiet on my front, but I'm hoping to learn something this week.”

“When you meet Jay and Louis’ siblings,” Zayn continued nonchalantly.

“Well, yeah, I mean hopefully?” Harry said. “I don't know if I feel comfortable talking to you about this.”

“Why? Louis has no problem giving me all the gory details all the time,” Zayn shuddered. “Too many details, actually.”

“I think it's interesting,” Niall leaned forward. “I'm still trying to figure out if Louis ever tops. H seems like he'd be a good bottom.”

“Moving on,” Liam said quickly when Harry opened his mouth to respond. “So we have no new updates on our potentially terrorist Prime Minister?”

“No, boss,” Harry said, sitting back.

“Affirmative,” Zayn said. 

Liam looked at Harry. “And we’re sure it's going to be the convention center?”

“All signs are pointing to that, yes. And based on the attendee list, it looks like it's the Economics in the UK Summit. I'm following a new lead, don't really want to explain just yet until I'm sure.”

Liam looked at him. “Is this something illegal?”

Harry shook his head. “Just generally frowned upon.”

Niall snapped his head towards him, probably remembering their conversation. “Is this about--”

Harry stomped on his foot. He didn't want Liam to know he was spying on some of his agents. Liam took pride in the agency and he knew the possibility of a mole weighed heavy on him. He had to be sure. “I’d rather fill you guys in when I have more information.”

“Okay, just be careful,” Liam sighed. “So do we know if the PM is going to be at the convention center?”

“His name was on the attendees list,” Harry explained. “But according to Louis’ calendar, he's actually going to be in Bristol that day.”

“Which means we might be able to finally get ahead of this and fully investigate him,” Liam sighed in relief. “We all understand that stopping this attack is our number one priority, correct?”

“Of course, boss,” Niall said.

“Okay, so let's get to work on that,” Liam said. “We have a few months before the Summit, so let's meet again next week with new findings. Thanks guys.”

They all nodded, and Harry started to get up, but Zayn stopped them. 

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you guys about this week before we break. Michael is more than prepared to man the ship while I'm gone. You guys shouldn't have a problem, and I will be back in a few days.”

“You mean when you go to your alien convention?” Harry asked.

Zayn stared at him for a second. “It's not an alien convention, it's the DSS Industry Day and Technology Expo, as you well know.”

“In Arizona,” Harry said. “Where the aliens are. You think you have us fooled but we know the truth. You're going alien hunting, aren't you? How could you hunt innocent aliens that are just trying to achieve the American dream like everyone else?”

“Why would I go alien-- you know what, never mind, I refuse to be pulled into this,” Zayn rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, leave him alone, Haz,” Niall snickered. “He doesn't have to tell you why he's going after the aliens.”

“There are no aliens in Arizona!”

“Well, not now there might not be, because all you DSS attendees chased them into extinction after all these years,” Harry nodded sagely.

“It's not an alien expo! It's a day to showcase different technologies and encryptions for security and defense,” Zayn said.

“I don't know, that sounds made up. I mean you're Q, why would you need to go to anything like that? You're already the top technology developer in the world, probably. Seems like a cover to me,” Harry tapped his chin. “What do you think, boss? This is on the agency’s dime, isn't it? How do you feel about sending our boy here to hunt aliens?”

“Hmm,” Liam said, sitting back slowly, his eyes on Zayn. “It does seem kind of fishy to me. Why would you need to see new encryptions? You've created more than I can count yourself.”

“Because sometimes civilians come up with some interesting stuff,” Zayn crossed his arms.

“Interesting stuff to hunt for aliens?” Niall asked.

“Yes, I'm beginning to think signing off on this was a mistake,” Liam nodded. “It's not very nice to the aliens in Arizona.”

“For the last time, there are no aliens in Arizona,” Zayn said in exasperation. He saw Harry open his mouth and quickly added, “nor have there ever been.”

“Have you never heard of Area 51, Q? Of course there are,” Harry said.

“That's New Mexico,” Zayn rolled his eyes again. 

“Hey, can you bring me back a souvenir?” Niall spoke as if he hadn't heard him. “Maybe something from their spaceship?”

“Is that even legal?” Harry wondered. “I mean, you wouldn't necessarily go to a human car and take a piece of it, right? Does Arizona law apply to spaceships?”

“You are all ridiculous,” Zayn shook his head. “The rumors of the spaceships are in New Mexico, not Arizona!”

“Hmm, good point, Haz,” Niall nodded. “What do you think, boss?”

“I think you're all a bunch of imbeciles,” Zayn said.

None of them reacted to him. Liam tapped his chin a few times. “Well, technically, it would be considered intergalactic property, yeah? I don't think human laws would apply at all, let alone Arizona’s. Okay, yeah, I want a piece of the spaceship too.”

“Oh, me too!” Harry said excitedly.

Zayn just shook his head, got up, and left, mumbling as he went. They waited until he slammed the door behind him to start cracking up. Harry wiped a tear from his eye. Too easy.

“But, how cool would that be though?” Niall said suddenly.

“Epic,” Harry agreed. “Though I doubt we’ll get anything at this point.”

“Speak for yourself,” Niall scoffed. “I'm still the boyfriend.”

Oh yeah, there was that. Damn it, Niall. 

\---

Louis had texted Harry an address at precisely five past six when he knew Harry was going to be leaving his office and heading towards the train. It was simply an address and Harry would know what it meant. This time it was close enough for Louis to walk to from Downing Street and it was a nice night for it, just a hint of September chill. It was a nice walk around the park before heading up into Soho. 

When he got close enough to see the pub glowing brightly in the night, he could see a person leaning casually against the building near the entrance. Louis couldn’t help the smile on his face. And if he felt the butterflies in his stomach, well, no one had to know. 

“Hey, I couldn't help but notice you here all alone. Can I buy you a drink?” Louis asked casually, stopping in front of his boyfriend.

Harry tried to hide the smirk on his face. “Okay, but we'll have to do this quickly, before my boyfriend gets here. He might beat you up.”

Louis snickered and leaned in, pressing his lips to Harry’s, feeling him smile against him. “Hi,” he said when he finally pulled away.

“Hi,” Harry said back. “Ready to go in?”

“Yup,” Louis said, as they started into the pub. “Though, I don't know how we could ever win without Zayn.”

Harry laughed while looking around for a booth. Let’s be real, Zayn, even with his genius IQ and his IT job, was somehow not good at trivia. Plus, he'd always get them disqualified because he'd be constantly texting Niall on his phone. Harry pulled Louis over to one of the booths and propped down. “You owe me a drink,” he grinned. “Preferably strong and preferably quickly.”

Louis laughed. “Mmm, gotta get you good and drunk before your boyfriend comes and steals you away. I'll go get us signed up too.”

“Excellent,” Harry said with a laugh. 

Louis weaved his way through the mass of tables and chairs to the bar on the other side of the room. He pulled a tenner from his wallet to pay for their drinks, colorful fruity things guaranteed to fuck them up a little after a couple. He signed up for trivia while the bartender poured their drinks, snickering at their name this week. He hoped whenever it was announced he'd get a little blush from Harry. Or a rousing laugh, depending on how many drinks he'd gotten into him. 

He sipped from his drink as he made his way through the maze back to their table, the trivia sheets tucked under his arm, feeling the slight sting of the double shot in the back of his throat. Excellent. 

He saw Harry quirk an eyebrow at the drink, but didn't say anything and gulped half of it down before Louis had even gotten into the booth. 

“If that's how you're going to be, the next one is on you,” Louis said with a grin. “It's fucking crowded here tonight.”

He saw Harry look up and around the room, taking in how all the booths were full and nearly all the tables. And there were still people crowded around the bar. “I think we can take them though.”

“No doubt, and if not, we will lose so spectacularly it'll be like winning anyway.” 

Harry gave him a soft smile around the lip of his glass and Louis felt him tangle their legs under the table. 

He heard a shout from by the bar and they both looked up. A tall brunette was standing on a chair right behind the bar, her right hand braced on the head of a scowling gentleman. She was looking very serious for how she was standing and for the ridiculous smile on her face. 

“Now that I've got your attention,” she started with a wicked grin, “let's get this going.”

Louis thought she'd get down from the chair, but she stayed up there, only a few inches from the ceiling, quite relaxed against her coworker’s head. 

“We've got a picture round, general knowledge, and you're so lucky this is the second Wednesday of the month because the last subject is ‘it happened in September.’ Only really two rules. When we say stop, you stop. And if you use your phone, you're out. Good luck, losers! Picture round starts now!”

Harry flipped the page over with so much enthusiasm Louis almost didn't notice how strange it was to be doing this part without Zayn. Almost. It was one thing to be here flirting and getting silly with Harry because they did that on the regular. This was something a little different. 

He didn't have a lot of time to think about it because Harry was writing so intensely and Louis hadn't even looked at what they were meant to be identifying. 

“Are you humming Man! I feel like a woman?” Louis asked. Harry made a choking sound and gestured to the page of pictures which was covered in female singers, the first one on the list being Shania Twain. “I don't know why, but I would have pegged you more as a You're Still the One man.”

Harry paused for a second to look up at him. “I am.”

He went back to filling them in with inhuman speed, which Louis found hilarious, and also embarrassing because he realized that was him on their first meet with the Star Wars characters. God, why hadn't Zayn kicked him under the table or something? Some friend he was.

“Done!” Harry exclaimed. 

“I am oddly both aroused and troubled by how fast you did that,” Louis said seriously. 

“I am a man of many talents,” Harry smiled, and leaned in slightly. “Maybe if you're lucky, I'll show you some of them later.”

“We can hear you, and we highly approve,” a girl from the table next to them said. 

Louis blushed while Harry laughed at that, unfazed as usual by his antics. But then he got a strange gleam in his eyes, and Louis had a feeling this was going to get worse, much, much worse.

“Alright,” the tall brunette said. “Time for the general knowledge round! If you're not done, too bad, you'll probably lose anyway. Just kidding, but not really. Okay then!” She lifted up her sheet. “Your first question is, drum roll please, Pete,” she looked down at the man she was holding onto for balance. From the ever present scowl on his face, Louis was 99.9% sure, there was no drum roll coming. “What is the longest bone in your body?”

Louis knew what was coming before Harry even opened his mouth. “I'll show you the longest bone in my body,” he said.

“I'm embarrassed to know you,” but Louis blushed hard, and grabbed the paper from him to write in Femur, before Harry could write in his answer. Harry seemed to take this as a challenge, and moved closer to Louis, letting him feel his breath against his ear. Louis shivered. Damn him. 

“Next question,” the girl said. “What is the melting point of water in Fahrenheit? Yes, we have to acknowledge those Americans sometimes.”

“I wonder how fast you'll melt once I get my mouth on you,” Harry licked his lips.

Louis bit his lip as he wrote in 32 degrees. This was not fair, and he was going to plot his revenge if it was the last thing he did. Especially since Harry continued for the next 7 questions. Only on the last question (True or False: Peanuts are an ingredient in dynamite, which was True) did he not say anything, which -- really, how easy would that one have been? By the time the general question round was done, Louis was half hard and ready to leave and take Harry home right that second, but it would have to wait because he was pretty sure he had gotten all the answers right in that one, and well, they did want to try to win.

Between rounds while Louis adjusted himself in his trousers, Harry went up to the bar to get more drinks. There was already a pile of glasses pushed to the back of the table, creating sticky rings on the wood. Harry slinked back into the booth moments later, pressing himself tight against Louis in the booth and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

He pressed a sticky sweet kiss against Louis’ cheek and then another one against the corner of his mouth. Louis could practically taste the sweetness of the drink from Harry’s breath ghosting over his lips. He was about to lean in, drawn in by Harry’s lips right there when he heard the sound of the girl and her head rest arguing loudly. She had climbed down and he could see she was fairly short indeed, her eyes level with his chest. 

Apparently he didn’t like his job tonight and she didn’t give a shit. She climbed back on the chair and he stayed right there to keep her balanced. Sucker.

“Alright, losers, last round! I hope you all like history because it happened in September is a go.” She pulled up a piece of paper and Louis could see her squinting at it and he could feel Harry’s breath on his neck. “On 1st of September 1939, Germany started World War II when it invaded which country?”

He felt Harry mumble Poland into his collarbones. He scratched it onto the paper and tried to control the goosebumps on his arms. 

It continued like that through the round, Harry mumbling the answers into his neck, or his shoulder, or even once, the answer to the name of the ship that brought the pilgrims to America in September 1620, The Mayflower, mouthed onto his cheek. 

Louis was a wreck. But thankfully, after answering the last question about the Great Fire of London, they were finished. 

He barely made it through the marking period. Harry was driving him insane. The girls behind him were giggling at them. He could tell because they were trying to be extra quiet about it. Probably the only thing stopping him from letting Harry take him right there on the table was the fact he’d most likely lose his job, and even that was barely convincing him. 

Finally, finally they were announcing the winners. They started from the bottom and Louis knew they wouldn’t be there. He actually felt confident about a lot of the answers, especially Harry’s knowledge of female popstars, which he wielded tonight proudly. When their name hadn’t been called by the time they got to the top three, it was shaping up to be one of their more successful trivia outings. 

Then third place (It’s Only Cannibalism if you Swallow) wasn’t them. 

Harry kept watching his face because he didn’t know what their team name was and Louis was refusing to tell him. But he was starting to bounce in excitement.

And then second place was I Thought This was Speed Dating and Louis was holding back a grin. 

Harry practically shouted, “Did we just win?”

“Yes!” Louis shouted right back.

Up on her chair the girl announced,”And the winner is: Multiple Scorgasms!”

“We won!” Louis jumped up. He grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him up to get their prize, an offer for free drinks. Unbelievable! They'd never won before! And that was when a verified genius was on their team! “Thank you, thank you, we'd like to thank our fans.”

“I’d like to thank you for the idea,” Harry leaned in to whisper, just low enough that the scowling man who handed him the coupon couldn't hear. “I wonder how many orgasms I could give you in a night.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Louis said finally, whirling around. “I hate you. Let's go find out.”

Harry laughed as Louis led him through the pub, ignoring the winks from the girls that had been next to them. “Louis,” Harry said, pulling him back for a second, when they got outside. He pulled him to him, and Louis let himself go easily into Harry’s arms, sighing as he kissed him, languidly and thoroughly. Damn him for always getting him so worked up with even a kiss. 

“We can continue this back at my place,” he pulled back finally, but his eyes turned suspicious when he saw Harry bite his lip nervously. “What?”

“I can't tonight,” he said, and Louis could hear the apology in this voice. “I have to be out really early tomorrow for work, and--.”

Louis put a hand up to silence him. Of course he understood, but he also hated him right now. Harry had already told him he had to travel again, he just thought he'd get to spend tonight with him first, maybe get a few of those orgasms. “Harold Styles, you teased me all night. You got me hard in that freaking booth with those girls watching, and now you're going to leave me all alone?”

“Well, I didn't know you were into exhibitionism, I could definitely get with that,” Harry said with a completely serious tone.

Louis couldn't help himself and he punched Harry’s arm.

Harry laughed and leaned forward, kissing his cheek. “Okay, okay, I'm sorry, love. I really wish I could come over but I can't tonight. But I promise to make it up to you when I get back. Okay?”

Louis sighed dramatically. “Okay, you better.”

Harry grinned, and well, Louis was always a sucker for those dimples. “I'll see you soon,” he leaned forward to kiss him again. “Oh, and if you talk to Zayn before I do, don't forget to tell him we won.”

“Pfft,” Louis rolled his eyes. “I'm going to text Niall on the way home. Zayn will know within minutes.”

Harry laughed. “I'm sure he'll appreciate that.”

“You know,” Louis said suddenly. Once he knew he wasn't getting any tonight, his brain had started to clear up - slightly and he had realized something. “Zayn and I have been coming to these things since uni, and this is the first time I've ever won, and it's just not as satisfying without him. I mean, sure, he gets us disqualified every time, but he brings that oomph to the team.”

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. “You're right, it's not the same without him texting Niall how disgusting we're being. Plus the hair.”

“Oh, definitely the hair,” Louis grinned.

Harry kissed him again then, running his thumb across his cheek, and well, Louis may not have been satisfied about winning quiz night, but he was definitely very, very pleased at this moment.

\---

Harry was very drunk, and he was somewhat debating if it had been a good idea to go home without Louis tonight. Okay, he had a mission in the morning, but it wasn't like he hadn't gone off on missions before while he was Louis’ boyfriend. Okay, so they were before they started these daily sleepovers, but still. Liam had said to pull all the stops, right? Well, it was too late now. He had already told Louis that he needed to leave at the crack of dawn, so it would look slightly suspicious if he called Louis now. He was coherent enough to know that. Besides, let's be real, it wasn't like he was in any state of mind to do anything remotely spy right now. Best case scenario, he'd get some really good sex, and well, Louis wasn't a booty call. Plus he was probably sleeping.

Harry resigned himself to just check in on the surveillance feeds from Louis’ flat. The cameras Luke and Michael had installed definitely made his job a lot easier. He didn't have to just assume what Louis was doing anymore when he listened into his bug feeds. Now, he'd have picture. He settled into bed and tuned into the feed on his iPad.

Louis was sitting on his couch, his feet up on the coffee table with his laptop on his lap. Okay, so that wasn't unusual. He did mention he had some work to catch up on. Harry watched him for a few minutes, a little too caught up on the concentrated look on Louis’ face. He was so cute when he was concentrating. Okay, no, he needed to focus. Just because he was drunk did not mean Louis was any less a potential danger to the world, no matter how adorable it was how his nose scrunched up when he was really focusing on something.

Harry watched him for a few more minutes before deciding that nothing interesting or pressing was going to happen tonight, and he'd just check the feed on the plane tomorrow. He was about to turn off his iPad when Louis’ phone rang. Harry snapped into focus, his eyes shifting to his bedside clock. It was almost 2 am. Who would be calling him right now? Well, besides the obvious answer that was his boyfriend. But his boyfriend was definitely not calling. Harry switched over to the bug on his phone, his eyes intently focused on Louis’ image.

Louis looked at his phone screen before sighing and answering. “What can I do for you, Ann Marie?”

Ann Marie? Why would she be calling right now?

“I need to know if everything is set up for the convention,” Ann Marie said. Harry sat up. The convention. Was this it? Was he about to find out just how involved Louis was in all of this? 

Louis sighed. “Yes, everything is ready to go.”

“Good, we don't want any mistakes,” Ann Marie ignored the slightly attitude in his voice. “You know how important this convention is to the Prime Minister.”

“I do,” he affirmed. “And trust me, everything will go off without a hitch.”

“It better,” she hung up.

Louis rolled his eyes and tossed his phone to the side. “No thanks to you,” he mumbled to himself. Harry watched with bated breath as Louis turned off his computer and got up, stretching before heading to the bedroom. He switched the feed and watched Louis get into bed, the cameras making out his silhouette in the darkness.

Harry watched a few moments, before turning off the feed and picking up his phone. Liam picked up on the second ring. “Haz?”

“I think you need to see this.” 

Harry was too drunk to really make sense of what he just saw without jumping to every conclusion possible but he knew this was important. He just couldn't figure out how.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Someone had hostilely taken over MI6. That was the only explanation for what Harry was seeing right now. Because honestly, this was obscene. The MI6 headquarters was notorious for being unseen. It wasn’t invisible of course, that would be too tall an order for even Zayn to fill, but it was good at blending into the London skyline like any other office building. You wouldn’t even look twice while walking by. Only, that was definitely not the case this morning. There were leprechauns, actual leprechauns - well, men dressed up as leprechauns, dancing outside the building. Literally dancing outside with little pots of what seemed to be gold glitter that they were throwing around. Gold glitter. Oh God, the Irish intelligence agency had to be the ones hostilely taking them over, or just a diabolical mad man. That was literally the only thing he could think of.

Harry gripped his gun at his back as he walked in. That's when it hit him. Sure, there were orange, green and white balloons everywhere, lining the walls and doorways and littered across the floor, but that wasn’t what gave it away. And the laser lights flashing everywhere were a bit extreme, but they didn’t really mean anything. No, it was the giant photos of Niall that hung around the lobby. Not one or two, but at least eight of them on this floor alone. 

He looked at the present box in his hand, and felt highly inadequate at the moment. He had been excited by his gift, having felt Niall would absolutely die when he not only gave him Derby County season tickets, but had also gotten the Derby boys to autograph a football for him. Allegedly, there had been an incident at one of their games last year, and allegedly, Harry had saved the day, and so they owed him one. But there were leprechauns. Though, seeing as Zayn was the smartest person he had ever met, and well, Niall’s boyfriend, he didn’t feel too badly about being outdone.

“Wait till you see your office,” Jade snickered as she came over to him. 

“What happened to my office?” he asked warily. He was almost a little scared to go find out. 

“It’s not that bad, really,” she promised, though there was a smirk on her face. “It’s going to take you forever to clean it up, but it’s not that bad. I think it was to make sure you didn’t forget at any point of the day what today is.”

“Zayn,” he groaned as they made their way to the elevator, well, kicked their way through the balloons. “How could anyone forget this, ever?”

“Wait till you try the chocolate Liam is giving out, it melts in your mouth,” Jade laughed as they got into the elevator. “What I wouldn’t do for a man who’d go to these lengths for me.”

“Jade, I am begging you with all I’ve got, please do not let that man be a lair lackey, there are only so many times a year I can handle this,” Harry pleaded.

“We’ll see,” she winked. “And cheer up, this only happens once a year after all, and it’s always good fun to see what Zayn has in store every year. I liked the fire breather last year.”

“Didn’t they accidentally drop some of the fuel and burn Winston’s shoes?” Harry snickered as the elevator stopped on their floor.

“Like I said, I quite liked them,” she grinned.

He laughed as they went their separate ways. This floor was even more heavily decorated with Niall’s face, balloons - with Niall’s face, and hologram leprechauns - with what looked like Liam’s face. That made sense, it was a liability issue having civilians on any floor besides the lobby. He made a beeline for Niall’s desk, where Cara was leaning over talking to him. Oddly, there was a line outside of Liam’s office. Ashton and Perrie waved at him as he walked by. He knew it had to be the chocolate Liam was apparently giving out, which, what?

“Harry,” Niall greeted him, unwrapping another chocolate. Cara hugged him and walked off.

“Happy Birthday, Horan!” He handed him his present. “How did your boyfriend pull this off exactly?”

“He’s a genius, duh,” Niall said between bites. “Cheers, mate.”

“He’s something,” Harry laughed as he stole a piece of chocolate off Niall’s desk and took a bite. “Damn, this is good, but um, why is Liam giving it out?”

“Zayn,” Niall explained as he shook the box, trying to hear what was inside. And really, that was all he needed to say. He was almost wary of finding out how Zayn had forced Liam into that one. He grinned as Niall’s face lit up when he opened his present.

“Wow, thanks, mate,” he looked over the ball. “This is perfect. Zayn turned the roof into a football field, we were gonna go have a kick around at lunch time, we have to use this. Actually, better not, I’d like to keep this for all of eternity and I don’t want to get grass stains on it.”

“I’m glad you -- hang on,” the surprises apparently never ceased. “How are you going to get grass stains from a concrete roof?

“He grew a football field,” Niall explained calmly, as if a concrete roof being grown into a football field was an everyday occurrence anyone could accomplish. “He developed some quick grass growing thing. I’m not really sure how he did it. But anyways, we’re gonna go play a game at lunch, you in?”

Harry laughed and agreed quickly, before skipping the line to get into Liam’s. That chocolate was really good. He still wasn’t sure how Zayn had done it, but damn, Q was still the best.

\---

Harry was in the middle of deciding if he should try and style his hair or just put it up when the buzzer in his flat went off. He skidded to the door in his socked feet to see a little image of Louis on the monitor. 

They didn’t have plans and he knew it because he was keeping this night free. It was Niall’s party which was always a massive, drunken, mess of a night and it was always incredible. All of the people he liked from work were going to be there. 

“Louis?” He asked into the intercom.

“Did you just want to ride over together, H? I realized on my way over we hadn’t even talked about it.”

“Over to where?” 

“The bar? Niall’s birthday? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

“I, uh,” Harry started, stumbling a bit over the words. It was so rare anyone caught him off guard. “Yeah, I’m almost ready.”

He pressed to let Louis into the building and cracked the door to his flat. He then ran and slid across the floor and into his bedroom to send a text to Niall that was mostly question marks and exclamation points and Louis’ name. Niall would definitely understand.

By the time he heard Louis come through the door he had worked some product into his curls and was about to pull on a shirt. Louis’ arms wrapped around him from behind just as he finished pulling it over his head. He felt Louis press a kiss into his shoulder. 

Harry’s concern was that if he didn’t know Louis was coming, did anybody else? It was different than Liam’s birthday. Everyone was prepared them. It was like a game of who could fool Louis the best. This time it was a test. 

But if they failed, their national security was at risk. So yeah, the stakes were just a tad bit higher.

He tried to cover up the deep breath he took in preparation before turning around and giving Louis a small kiss on his lips.

“Let’s get going then. If we get there too late there might not be any alcohol left,” Harry said. 

“With Niall that is a valid concern.”

Harry took Louis by the hand and led him through his flat, then out the door and down the street. He didn’t let him go until they were standing outside the bar they had rented out for the night. Sure, they just had to rent out a place in case a bunch of drunk agents let something out about their super secret spy life, but inviting Louis, a target of a super secret spy mission? Of course that made sense. From outside he could see the lights flashing inside and feel the music shaking the pavement.

“Looks like they really went all out this year,” Louis commented, grinning.

Harry looked at him, a little surprised, remembering very distinctly one year when they’d all flown out to the Mediterranean,rented a bunch of yachts and just gotten massively drunk. Then there was that year with the hot air balloon party. That hadn’t been their best idea, but hey, it was Niall’s birthday.

“This is a lot better than those dinner parties they usually have,” Louis explained. 

Dinner parties. For Niall’s birthday. “I’m a little offended I haven’t been to those dinner parties. I mean, I love food, and I love parties.”

“It was mostly uni people,” Louis shrugged, and pulled out his phone, sending a quick text. “Jesy should be here any minute. I told her we’d wait for her out here. You know, so she doesn’t have to walk in alone.”

“Oh, Jesy is coming?” Harry was still mad that she had been put on to practically babysit him in this mission, but he was silently relieved that she was coming. Then, at least there were two people who had to deal with this.

“Yup, Niall said it was cool if I invited her,” he was still looking at his phone. “She just got off the tube, she’ll be here in two minutes. I think maybe I can set her up with Liam, what do you think? Is Liam seeing anyone? Because if he’s not, I think he can definitely use a girl like Jesy.”

Harry bit back a laugh. “Oh yes, you should definitely do that.”

Okay, so it was only a little spiteful of him. But hey, Liam was the one that had sent her to babysit Harry.

“Then we can double date!” Louis said excitedly. 

Harry couldn’t help it this time. He laughed, loudly.

“What’s so funny?” Jesy said as she suddenly appeared next to them.

“Nothing. Oh hey,” Louis hugged her quickly. “Great, you’re here! Let’s go in.” He tugged Harry’s arm towards the door, and Harry willingly followed. “I want to see Niall before he’s too drunk to remember.”

“This is Niall we’re talking about,” Harry chortled. “That time has probably already come and gone.”

Jesy laughed behind him, though she didn’t comment, because saying that she remembered how these parties usually went would definitely blow her cover.

They walked in and Harry almost groaned. If the office looked like it had been thrown up by a leprechaun, the pub looked like they had literally been transported to Ireland. Or rather, just into Zayn’s dreams maybe. Niall’s face was, once again, everywhere. Louis guided them to a booth where he saw the boys had situated themselves. Harry waved at people on the way, subtly trying to point at Louis and signal that they had to keep their cover. However, from the confused, and one offended look, he got from people in the pub, he was pretty sure they had no idea what he was trying to say. Jesy seemed to notice though and subtly showed him her phone screen where she had texted Perrie to spread the word. Or that worked too.

They got to the table, and the first thing that caught his eye wasn’t the fact that Liam’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets, or the fact that Liam also ended up spilling his drink all over Cara who was sitting next to him, or even the fact that Niall was wearing a leprechaun hat. No, it was the napkins that caught his eye first. The napkins with Niall’s face on them. Yup, his face was everywhere. He lifted one, and smirked. “Is this so we can know what it feels like to hook up with Niall too, Q?”

Zayn rolled his eyes, though he was smiling, slightly. “I don’t know what you do with napkins, H, but most of us don’t make out with them.”

Harry made a small noise of protest, but it couldn’t really be heard over the music. Louis heard it, he knew, because his lips quirked up, ready to laugh at his expense. 

“I fully give you permission to make out with my napkin-face,” Niall said giddily. Cara started coughing and Harry was pretty sure she had snorted up some of her drink while she laughed.

“I just meant,” Harry started. No one was really listening, but he continued on, “that when you eat, you know,” and made the motion of wiping his face. “Niall all over you.”

“You should be so lucky,” Niall said, leaning back in the booth with a wicked grin. 

“Everyone,” Louis called out when the laughter had died down, “This is my coworker Jesy. She’s a good time, but expect some attitude if no one brings us a drink in the next few minutes.”

Jesy let out a loud bark of laughter and gave a “Hiya” to the room. The table called back hellos and Liam started to scoot out of the booth.

“Harry and I will go get some drinks. I need another anyway.” Liam was standing and dragging Harry by the arm. Which, what a terrible lie. His pint was half full. But Harry let himself be pulled and started to mentally prepare himself for the absolute ear bending he was about to get.

They didn’t even stop at the bar. Liam dragged him straight past it and through the back, before shoving him into the toilets. He threw the deadbolt on the door. 

“You aren’t who I thought I’d be locked in here with tonight,” he joked feebly. Liam just stared back sternly at him.

“You invited Louis here tonight without my permission and you have the audacity to make a joke,” Liam whisper yelled. “That’s not just your mission on the line, but our entire organization. Your lack of care for your job and for me, personally, is incredibly appalling. We are supposed to be friends, Haz.”

“I didn’t do it,” Harry whisper yelled back. “He showed up at my flat ready to go!”

Liam scoffed. “Don’t be offended, but I don’t believe you, Styles. This is exactly the kind of shit you’d pull.”

“Honestly, M? I fucking live for this job, I wouldn’t risk that for a laugh. And we are friends. It must have been Niall or Zayn.”

Liam scoffed again. He looked like he was working up to yell at Harry again, which was starting to piss him off. He always took full credit when he pulled something, but he wasn’t going to blamed for this one. He was about to tell Liam exactly that when someone pounded on the door. They both froze.

“Oi, open up, ya cunts.” Niall continued to pound on the door.

Liam didn’t move, so Harry turned around and undid the lock, yanked the door open and almost got hit in the face by Niall’s flailing arm.

“Get in here now,” Liam said sternly. 

Niall walked in, followed closely by an annoyed looking Zayn, though that was the face he had most of the time, so Harry wasn't sure if he was just imagining him being annoyed.

Liam waited until Harry locked the door again to start yelling again. “You know how these parties get. And you know how serious this is. You could literally blow everything. What if someone gives something away and Louis changes the plan? Not to mention the fact that you are putting the lives of every agent in MI6 at risk by showing them to a potential terrorist we cannot mysteriously make disappear because we have no evidence.”

“I didn't invite him, Liam!” Harry exclaimed, his tone angry now. “You know I would never risk any of that. I didn't even know he was coming.”

“For Christ’s Sake, is this what is taking you wankers this long,” Niall rolled his eyes. “I invited him, not Harry. And if you two morons had checked your memos before you left the office today, I already warned everyone. No one is going to say anything.”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Niall?” Liam rounded on him. “What were you thinking?”

“I'm thinking Louis is my friend, and I wanted him at my birthday,” Niall stood firm. “I'm also thinking you should trust your agents a little more. None of them are going to try to set you up to fail.”

“I’m thinking you owe me an apology,” Harry added.

“Shut it, Haz,” Liam said. “I don’t think they’re setting me up to fail, but I don’t think I need to remind you how last year, Ashton started waving around that new device they were working on that changes people’s voices.”

“That was a true work of genius,” Harry held his hand up for a fist bump, which Zayn returned with a roll of his eyes.

“Until you broke it,” Zayn said.

“And they were warned not to bring those kinds of things up,” Niall said. “Besides, Louis will be too drunk himself to remember half the shit that happens. I’m making it my personal mission.”

“Niall,” Liam finally seemed to give in, as he always did with Niall. He sighed. “I just want it on the record that I think this is a really, really bad idea.”

“I want it on the record that you need to loosen up, go get drunk and maybe get laid,” Niall smirked. “I am highly offended none of that has happened yet, seeing as this is a celebration of the greatest gift to humanity: me.”

Liam rolled his eyes, though he was smirking now. “You realize that apart from Louis, those are all my agents out there. I am not getting laid.”

“Then let’s go get pissed,” Niall amended.

“Also, it’s probably starting to look a tad weird that the four of us are locked in the bathroom,” Zayn spoke. 

They laughed and started for the door. Harry was flabbergasted as they headed back out. “So that’s a no on that apology then?”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Come on, Haz, I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Well, the tab is being covered by MI6, so technically that is true,” Zayn smirked.

“What?” Liam demanded, rounding on Zayn. “Who is covering the -- you know what? Nevermind. The things I do for the leprechaun, honestly.”

Harry grinned and followed them to the bar, where they decided they needed to do a group shot. It was Niall’s birthday after all. “There you are,” Louis appeared next to him with a nearly empty mojito in his hand. “I was wondering where you got off to. I introduced Jesy to Perrie and the girls and I don’t think I’m ever going to see her again.”

“I was planning my escape,” Harry said, a little amused at the idea of Jesy pretending not to know her best mates. They’d only known each other from their training days back when they’d been recruited by MI6. No big deal.

“Louis, excellent, we’re doing a shot,” Niall noticed him. He waved over the bartender. “Oi! Add another, will ya? Need one more for my mate here.”

The bartender nodded, and added one more shot glass to the pile, which Zayn dutifully passed around. “Here’s to the greatest gift to humanity.”

“And the most annoying,” Liam added. The five of them took their shot and Harry winced slightly. Of course Niall would order the strongest thing possible.

“Nice, Niall. I am definitely going to need something to wash that down with,” Louis said, noisily sipping the last of his drink down.

“I am sorry,” Liam said quietly, only for Harry’s ears as Louis ordered a round of pints.

“You know I would never intentionally do anything that could hurt you,” Harry said. “I mean, yeah, I may take your shirts and get them cut up and burned, and yeah, I may go off on missions I’m not authorized to, but it’s all for the good of the team, M. Always.”

“Yeah, I know,” Liam sighed. “It’s just this -- you know what? No work talk tonight. Let’s celebrate humanity’s gift tonight.”

“I am 100% for that,” Harry grinned. Louis handed him his drink. “Thanks, babe.” He leaned in to kiss him quickly. 

“So this is where the party is,” Jesy came over to them, with Perrie and Leigh-Anne in tow. 

“Jesy, darling, the party is wherever I am,” Louis grinned. 

“Liam, you remember Jesy, right?” Louis said rather loudly, and suggestively. 

Harry choked on his drink when Liam looked confused at this introduction. “Jesy is a really good friend of Louis’,” he added, you know, to help.

“Nice to see you again, Jesy,” Liam said warily, seeming to read the look of pure delight on Harry’s face as a bad sign.

“You too, Liam,” Jesy smiled, though her face told Harry she had caught onto what Louis was doing already. 

“She loves to dance,” Louis continued. “You should go dance with her.”

And that’s what Harry was waiting for. The moment it clicked for Liam. He laughed, hard. Harry saw Jesy roll her eyes hard behind Louis back, but she grabbed Liam by the arm anyway.

“Let’s go, boss man,” she said while dragging him across the room. Perrie and Leigh-Anne were trying to suppress their laughter. Harry was trying to warn them with his eyes to be careful, but they were loose and happy with alcohol, so he was mildly concerned. He might have to start paying the bartender extra to serve everyone water.

“Louis, you went to uni with Niall, right?” Perrie asked.

“And Zayn,” he said, already laughing a little.

“I feel like in honor of his birthday we should hear some sort of catastrophically embarrassing story that we can lord over him for the year to come,” Leigh-Anne said.

“I’m afraid, ladies,” Louis said solemnly, “that I don’t think Niall has ever been embarrassed of anything in his life. Except for the time he referred to breasts as chicken fillets.”

They both exploded in laughter, falling into each other slightly and sloshing their drinks onto the floor. “Oh gosh,” Perrie wheezed. “He would say something like that.”

“Otherwise, I think he’s proud of every single black out, drunk off his arse night. No shame, no game. That was our flat motto.” 

“Well then,” Perrie said, raising her glass. “To Niall and his beautiful chicken fillets game, and we may not even remember saying this.”

Harry raised up his beer and so did Louis, both of them with cheek splitting grins. “Cheers!”

“Oi!” Niall plopped up next to him, his arm wrapping around his shoulders. “I'm going to ignore the fact that you didn't invite me for this toast, even though I'm deeply offended by your life choices right now. Because there's karaoke. And Zayn and I are challenging you to a karaoke riff-off.” He walked off towards the stage.

Harry turned to Louis. “What do you say, Lou? Want to kick some birthday boy arse?”

Louis scoffed. “Harry, please. We're also going to kick birthday boy’s boyfriend’s arse.”

Harry grinned. This was going to be fun.

\---

They got off the tube at Caledonian Road and walked the short distance to where Fizzy’s new flat was located. They stood together, Harry holding tightly to Louis’ hand, as they waited for his mum’s car to pull up to the curb. He could see Louis trying to discreetly check his phone, looking for a text, he hoped, from Lottie saying they were close. All around them there were wide eyed kids and their parents hauling boxes and bedding out of the boots of their cars and disappearing into the building.

It made Harry kind of miss it, being at uni, the overwhelming need to learn anything and everything as quickly as possible so he could finish up, followed by nights arguing in Danish or Urdu, depending on the night, with his coursemates while they got drunk on flat beer and cheap whiskey. He gave Louis’ hand a squeeze.

He felt himself being pulled forward suddenly towards a big blue MPV pulling up to the curb. Harry could see a pretty brunette in the driver’s seat, Louis’ mum, he presumed. Next to her was Lottie; Harry knew her from the snapchats she sent Louis nearly every hour. When the car stopped Louis let go of his hand and yanked open the door to the back seat. Tumbling out came a tall brunette, Fizzy if Instagram didn’t lie, and behind her climbing out from the third row were the older twins, Daisy and Phoebe. While Fizzy and Daisy wrapped Louis up in a hug Harry watched Phoebe unbuckle Ernie from his car seat. He could see through to the other side where his mum was doing it as well for Doris rather quickly. She was certainly practiced in it.

They all looked nice. Well kept and not noticeably misbehaving or under parented. They didn't look out of the ordinary at all. 

Harry was snapped out of his evaluations by a light slap to his shoulder. He looked up to see Lottie grinning at him wickedly, apparently that look ran in the family. 

“Nice to meet you, Harry,” she said, with laughter on her lips. “Louis, introduce us all to your boy, he looks proper terrified.”

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but instead chose to smile sheepishly at them all and let out a long “Hiiiii” in greeting. 

He felt his cheeks heat, but Louis’ mum smiled warmly at him, so that was all that mattered. She stepped forward and wrapped him in a one armed hug because her other hand was holding Doris’ hand. He felt little arms wrap around his knees too and he sent a small smile down to Doris who grinned up at him with bouncing little curls piled on her head. 

When Louis’ mum pulled back she kept her arm outstretched on Harry’s shoulder and smiled at him warmly. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“You too,” he smiled at her, and then past her to the rest of them. “All of you, really. I’ve been looking forward to it.”

Which wasn’t a total lie. Yeah, it was kind of mean and he knew it because he had really terrible intentions with her son, intentions that could end with him spending the rest of his life in some black site prison, but he needed to see where Louis came from. He needed to see how these people might have impacted him.

Louis did a quick introduction to all his siblings, trying to make himself look annoyed by each of them, but not succeeding. Harry could practically feel his love for them, and he could feel theirs for him. 

Afterwards Jay and Fizzy headed inside to get her keys and fill out paperwork. The seven of them stayed by the car, which Harry just noticed was stuffed full of suitcases and bedding. Louis was catching up with his sisters, laughing loudly at their stories, Ernie’s little hand grasped in his. Harry was mostly observing, making mental notes, and listening for any keywords that might indicate a troubling home life or general mistrust or distaste for the government. So far he had nothing. 

He assumed that his sisters knew what Louis did for a job, but no one mentioned it. Louis actually seemed to say very little about his own life. He told a funny story about Zayn and when Lottie asked about what him and Harry had been up to recently, he gave her the highlights, but Louis himself didn't offer much. Curiously. 

Or maybe he cared more about what they were getting up to. What the older twins were learning in school. The new things the younger twins were learning. How Lottie’s training to be a makeup artist was going. None of it was probably weird at all. It was possible that Harry was paying too much attention on the situation and finding anomalies or eyebrow raising moments that weren’t really there. 

He zoned back into the conversation with seven sets of matching blue eyes staring at him. He felt a blush warm on his cheeks. Louis looked amused. 

“Daisy was just asking where you grew up, Haz.”

“Oh!” He said, his cheeks still warm. “I grew up in a little town in Cheshire. Haven’t been back in ages. My mum and stepdad moved to California a couple of years ago.”

“You didn’t go with her?” Phoebe said, sounding a little affronted. “California’s got to be way nicer than here.”

“Nah,” Harry said, turning to smile at Louis. “I think London’s got its perks.”

He heard Lottie mutter, “Gross” under her breath and he sent her a little smirk. Phoebe and Daisy didn’t find that as terrible as Lottie did because they both tugged on Louis’ arms and awed at him in sync. He saw Louis roll his eyes, but he was smiling fondly.

“So what is it that you do, Harry? Louis said something about you working with Zayn?” Lottie asked him. She could tell this was her interrogation moment that she would then report back to her mum and Fizzy. 

And it was kind of funny to Harry because he had a whole persona built. This Harry had a history and a story, but he hadn't really needed to pull it out yet during his mission. He spent so much time with Louis teasing each other that he never had to go on about what he officially titled his job. A lot of the other stuff never came up. They clicked beyond his cover story and he found he had to make up less and less. 

“We work at the same company, but in totally different departments. I’d be rubbish in IT.” Harry said all of this bashfully. “I do a lot of travelling to different branches worldwide, doing trainings and stuff. Not very glamorous, I’m afraid.”

“What’s the coolest place you’ve ever been?” Daisy asked.

“Oh, Australia, I think. I spent a few days down there earlier this summer when Louis was in New York. I actually had a day to see some of the sights.”

Phoebe heaved a heavy sigh. “Louis doesn’t get to do anything cool on his trips. He’s in meetings or following the security team around the hotel yelling at them. He never has any good stories.”

Louis looked slightly offended. “That’s not even what I do. Besides, I did get to sightsee when I was in New York. I had some free time.”

“The cow actually gave you a few hours off?” Lottie snorted. “I’m shocked.”

Harry raised an eyebrow in Louis’ direction. Ann Marie is what she meant, he was sure of it. Interesting. 

Louis scoffed and rolled his eyes, but he didn’t look like he wanted to respond. Instead he looked over Harry’s shoulder and called over to his mum who must have just come out of the building. 

“You ready to put those muscles to work?” Louis said, smirking.

“Always, babe.”

“Well then,” Jay said, clapping her hands together as she stopped in front of them. “Let's get all this stuff upstairs, and then we can get down to the real reason for this trip. Interrogating the new boyfriend.” She winked at Harry.

There were giggles and smirks throughout the group, except for Louis, Harry, and Fizzy. Fizzy just rolled her eyes. Louis looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, and Harry, well, Harry tried to smile sheepishly but internally he was trying to make sure he had his cover story perfect. He had a feeling, looking at their faces, that this was going to be more thorough than the interrogation portion of their MI6 training. Crap.

\---

Okay, so he was still a little freaked out about meeting Louis’ family. It had been -- nice, too nice. His mum was the sweetest lady, and his sisters, god. How did someone who came from such a nice bunch of people try to blow up half the world? It didn’t make sense to him. 

He sighed as he finished buttoning up his shirt. He was supposed to meet Louis in about an hour for dinner, and well, he wasn’t really sure how to handle this. At least, not internally. Because they had been nice. God, why couldn’t his mum have been some junkie, and his sisters rude teenage girls? That would have made everything so much easier. But nope, they were normal and nice. What’s worse is that Harry knew, he just knew that they loved him. He could tell. They were expecting things from him now, things with Louis, like marriage and babies. 

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. It just didn’t make sense. He checked his phone. He still had about ten minutes before he’d have to leave, and that was definitely enough time to check the bugs he had on Louis really quick. He had just pulled out his iPad to turn it on when his phone rang. Liam.

“Hey M, what’s up?”

“You need to get to the airport,” Liam said, no formalities, which made Harry sit up quickly. “The jet is being fueled right now, and there’s a car outside your flat.”

“What happened?” he asked. Had he missed something? 

“You haven’t seen the news?” Liam asked.

“I was with Louis’ family today, remember?” Harry said quickly, trying to remember exactly how Louis had acted at every point throughout the day. “M, what happened?”

“There was another bomb,” Liam sighed. He sounded exhausted.

Harry immediately got up, grabbing his iPad and the go bag he had prepped and ready at all times under his bed. He stuffed his iPad into it, and shifted the phone on his shoulder. “Where am I going?”

“Belfast,” Liam explained. “We’ll need --”

“The remnants,” Harry finished as he headed to the door. “Got it. Consider it done. I’ll report back tonight after I land and assess the situation.”

“I want these sons of bitches, Haz,” Liam said coldly, a tone that Harry didn’t hear too often from him, and never at him thankfully.

“We’ll get them, Liam, soon, I promise,” he said firmly. He hung up and closed his door behind him, heading down. It was only when he got into the car that he remembered that he was supposed to be picking up Louis again soon.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes as the car headed to their private airport. Harry had just met Louis’ family, he’d left him not four hours ago. How did he blow up fucking Belfast in that time? Especially when he was saying bye to his mum and sisters two hours ago, according to his texts. He just didn’t understand. It didn’t make sense. He turned on his iPad on the video feed, seeing Louis rummaging through his closet with just his pants on and muted that before calling him.

“Hey, are you outside already?” Louis asked when he picked up. Harry watched as Louis put his phone on speaker as he continued rummaging through his closet. “I’m gonna need another ten minutes, you can come up though.”

“Sorry, babe,” Harry said, trying to keep his voice even and contrite. “I’m gonna have to take a raincheck for dinner.”

Louis stopped what he was doing and walked to the phone, picking it up and taking it off speaker before saying, “They freaked you out, didn’t they? Damn it, I knew this was going to happen. Look, I know they come on strong but they just really liked you. As you heard, if you had met my last boyfriend, you’d know why they liked you so much.”

Harry forced himself to laugh. “Stop, I loved them. They’re sweet, really. So breathe, because I’m not freaked out. I just got called away on work last minute.”

“Oh,” he watched Louis exhale in relief. “Okay then, where are you going?”

Harry tensed. He wasn’t sure what to say. If he said Belfast, he could watch Louis’ reaction and see if he gave anything away when he didn’t think Harry would see. But that might make him suspicious. “France,” he said carefully.

“You get to go to all the good places,” Louis sighed dramatically, as he put the phone on his shoulder to pull on sweats. 

Harry really laughed at that one. “You went to New York a couple weeks ago.”

“I guess,” he responded. “It’s not a big deal, we can reschedule.”

“I also had a bit of a favor to ask you.”

“Oh?” Louis asked. He could see Louis on the video perk up a bit at the phrase, which is exactly the reaction he was hoping for. Liam said to step up his game, so here he goes. 

“Could you do a bit of cat sitting for me?” He tried to sound as earnest as he could. Louis on the screen startled a bit. “Buttercup could use a friend while I’m gone.”

He watched him bite his thumb. “Yeah of course, H.”

“I was hoping you would say that,” he chuckled. Niall usually cat sat for him when he was gone, but he had spontaneously thought of this, maybe as a way to move them along faster. Before there was another Belfast incident somewhere else. “Zayn said he’d give you his key to my place tomorrow.” He paused for dramatic effect. “You can probably just keep it when I get back.”

He saw Louis fishmouth a bit on screen and then he got control of his face. “Are you giving me a key to your place?”

“Indirectly,” he laughed. “I want you to have it, to feel like you can come over whenever you want.”

Harry couldn’t tell on the screen, but he knew that Louis was blushing in real life. 

Louis groaned. “You’re killing me.”

“Good. So you’ll help out Buttercup, she gets so lonely.”

“Well, you know how close I am to Buttercup, wouldn’t want to let her down.” He could see Louis smiling on screen. “You’ll call me when you get back?”

“Of course,” Harry said. He hung up after a quick goodbye, and settled back, looking outside. They were almost to the airport. Good. The sooner he could get there, the sooner he could get back with the bomb remnants for Q to figure out if this was part of the past few attacks. And the sooner they could solve this whole thing, he could move on. Because Harry couldn’t deny he was a little unsettled at the moment. 

Talking to Louis just now reminded him of something. The worst thing about meeting Louis’ family wasn’t that they had loved him or that they were expecting him to want to marry Louis one day and have lots and lots of babies, at least according to Daisy. No, the worst part of it all was that Harry had liked them too. He had liked them a lot.

\---

While he and Jeff were flying over to Belfast, he read over a debrief Niall emailed him about what they knew so far, but it didn’t prepare him for the chaos he was met with when they arrived. 

There were fifteen bombs that went on almost simultaneously around the city. Four of them were concentrated around the City Hall, killing ten people and injuring close to fifty. There was a mix of civil servants and civilians in those casualties. Several bus depots were attacked, along with the Victoria Street rail station and the York Street rail station. Queen Elizabeth Bridge and the Railway Bridge both got hit with car bombs. 

The last bomb never went off. They were able to diffuse close to 100 kilos of explosives planted at the Northern Ireland Assembly. Despite them being able to diffuse the bomb, there were still five assassinations of assembly members and two failed attempts.

It was catastrophic. It was like every report he’d ever read of Bloody Friday all over again.

“Ever seen anything quite like this?” Jeff asked.

“Definitely not. You?”

“It eerily feels like 9/11,” Jeff responded quietly. That did not make him feel better.

They met an agent from the SDU outside the City Hall. The entire area was blocked off by the Emergency Response Unit. He could see ash seeping into the sky. Once they had made it through the barrier he was able to see the extent of the wreckage. They were still in the process of clearing through the rubble. The space was full of the Garda and their crime scene unit. 

The SDU agent, Detective Brigit Smyth, was painfully professional as Harry introduced his CIA counterpart even though last time he was in Belfast she gave him a rousing goodbye in the third floor toilet. She led him through the scene quickly, clearly trying to keep her anger and her disgust in check.

When they reached the back of the building which was so destroyed Harry could see clearly through the front door, she finally began talking. There were fewer people around the back digging through the rubble because most of the victims were on the front lawn. 

“They’ve got no idea, Styles,” Detective Smyth said in an angry whisper. “This is the most coordinated attack on our country since the 70’s. It’s clearly a political attack, but one that was also meant to debilitate response times and cut off communications networks.”

Harry nodded, turning his head to watch a few people pick their way through the inside of the building. “There’s been no changes or restructuring? No news on the any of the back channels? Even whispers of it happening?”

“There’s been nothing. We haven’t had a problem like this in a long time.”

He nodded shortly.

She bit her lip and stepped closer to him. Quietly she asked so only he could hear, “Is there a reason MI6 is here instead of MI5? And with CIA in tow? This is a matter of national security, not international.”

He tried to speak as lowly as he could, with minimal reaction, just in case someone was watching. “There’s a reason, but not one I’m cleared to speak of.”

She nodded quickly, barely noticeable at all. She’d helped him out before. Detective Smyth was skilled in being discreet. It was one of the things he found most attractive about her.

“We’ve been investigating a series of incidents,” Harry continued. “Everything you’ve collected I need to bring back to London. It’s imperative.”

“That’s out of my control this time, Styles.”

“Get us to the Commissioner,” Jeff said in typical American fashion. Harry winced. He knew Jeff wasn't trying to be rude, the CIA was just used to getting things done in a particular fashion. Unfortunately, Agent Smyth would probably not see it that way. “We can sort that out.”

“The CIA has no jurisdiction here,” Smyth glared at him.

Harry stepped in to calm the situation before Jeff could say anything. “Agent Smyth, I can't disclose the reason why, but it's imperative we get your cooperation in this. And if nothing else, our lab will be able to process this level of material more quickly.”

She looked mostly convinced, so Harry continued. “You are going to need answers fast, faster than your labs can get to them probably. It'll be chaos until you do, and the people will demand it. Let us help you. Besides, I owe you one.”

“Sounds like you'll be owing me 10 after this,” she said, but nodded then and led them away from the courtyard. They drove across the city in an armored truck.

Hours later, once they had worked their way up through the assistant commissioner and then a room of four or five officials of various rankings in the Garda, and secured the remnants, Harry collapsed into his hotel room. Jeff had gone off to meet one of his contacts, looking for information he might be able to provide. They had delayed their flight until the next day. There was still a lockdown on all airline travel. To be honest, they were lucky they had even let their land the plane to begin with. 

He’d just finished pulling on a pair of trousers after his shower where he was able to scrub off the soot from the explosion when there was a swift knock on his door. When Harry pulled it open Brigit was standing on the other side, out of uniform as well, with a bottle of Bushmills in her left hand. Her smile looked a little bit like a grimace. 

“This is shit,” she said. “So I brought whiskey.”

“Cheers,” Harry said, letting her into his room. 

She kicked off her shoes by the door and climbed onto the bed on top of the duvet. Brigit settled the glasses between her thighs and pulled the cap out of the bottle. She made not pretense about them starting slow. She filled the glasses over half full and before she put the cap back on she took a swig from the bottle. He took a glass from Brigit when she offered it to him and he choked down a mouthful.

“This is awful,” Harry said clearing his throat. She shrugged and downed her glass in one go. She pulled the cap off the bottle with her teeth and poured some more.

“Come sit, Harry.”

He walked around to the other side of the bed and he could feel her eyes on him the whole way, burning through him. 

Harry knew exactly what she was doing. He finished off his drink and set the glass on the table next to the bed before climbing in. She was ready for him when he leaned over her to give her a kiss, pressing her back into the pillow. 

He pushed his hand up into her hair, tangling into her long brunette locks. His other hand ghosted down her side, skimming her breast and the curve of her hips. Brigit sucked Harry’s bottom lip into her mouth while her hands pulled at his trousers. He could taste the whiskey on her tongue. 

He was struck with how strange it was to be kissing someone who wasn’t Louis. Struck by long hair, full lips, smooth cheeks. A little unnerved without Louis’ little breathy moans and his hard chest pressed against Harry’s. 

He pulled his mouth away from hers.

She moved her lips down his neck, sucking by his jaw. He moved his fingers up her shirt, the skin smooth and warm. He pushed his hand inside of her bra, brushing his fingers over her nipples and he heard her breath catch in her throat and felt her lips stutter on his neck.

It sounded wrong. 

Inexplicably, he missed that he could always feel the smile on Louis’ lips when he kissed down his neck. The way his fingers dug into his hips. His cold toes pressed into Harry’s calves. 

He tried to shake it off.

She undid the button his his trousers. 

But it felt wrong too.

He pulled back, leaning up on his elbow, trying not to look Brigit in the eye. 

“You okay?” She asked. 

He wasn’t sure how to answer it. The answer was a resounding no, but he wasn’t sure why. He kept coming up with the same solution in his head and he wasn’t willing to accept it.

“We should probably not do this.”

She raised an eyebrow. She didn't argue, though clearly she was waiting for an explanation. But he didn't have one he was willing to share. 

He was silent for a minute too long. All of a sudden she was a flurry of action. She pulled his hand out of her bra, which he didn't even realize was still there, and lightly shoved her body off of his. 

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He could hear Brigit getting her things together. 

“Try to get some sleep, Styles, I'll see you in the morn.”

He heard the door click behind her. 

Fuck. 

What was that? He had never had a problem in this department before. Hell, some would say it was his specialty. He'd hooked up with Brigit before, and they had both thoroughly enjoyed it. And yet. And yet, he couldn't help but think of how Louis would react to his touches, of how it would feel if it were Louis below him.

Again, the only thought running through his mind was fuck. Because he was pretty sure he had just crossed a line. He was pretty sure he was properly enamored by Louis, and not for the mission. 

Fuck.

This was not good. 

\---

Louis was not sure how he felt about this as he stood outside Harry’s door. Well, he was happy, but they were just about to take a huge step. He had Harry’s key in his hand. No. His key now, his key to Harry’s flat. But it suddenly seemed real. Of course, Harry meeting his family was real. He was very careful with who he introduced to his family, but that was him taking a big step and maybe this was Harry’s equivalent to that meeting. He’s letting Louis in, both figuratively and literally. It was big and he could feel it. 

“Stop being a wimp,” he breathed to himself, and turned the key. And there it was. He had officially let himself into Harry’s flat.

Buttercup was lounging on Harry’s sofa, and acknowledged his presence with a slightly tilt of her head, before closing her eyes again. Well, that was anti-climatic. Thank you, Buttercup.

Louis filled Buttercup’s bowl easily, already knowing where everything was. “There ya go, you party pooper.”

Buttercup meowed and made her way over to the offered bowl. Well, at least the cat ate what Louis offered her, so that was something. Besides, he already knew the cat liked him, and he wasn't sure what he was expecting really. It wasn't like Buttercup could throw him a party for taking the next step in his relationship with Harry. 

Which, speaking of. Louis had realized that Harry had met his mum and his siblings but he didn't even know really know anything about Harry’s family the day before and now he couldn’t stop thinking about it. All Harry had really said about them was that his mum and her new husband had moved to California several years earlier and while his sister still lived in England, they weren’t very close. 

To Louis, it seemed a little fated to him that just as he was wondering about them he was handed a key to Harry’s flat and all the time in the world to seek out what he’s wondering about. And it wouldn't really be snooping, would it? Not if he just so happened to find a photo album lying about, in his boyfriend’s flat, which he now had a key to. Besides, it was totally innocent. It's not like he was snooping for evidence of cheating or anything. He was just looking to know his own elusive boyfriend better.

“You don't think he'd mind, do you?” He asked Buttercup, petting his head. “I mean, just a quick look wouldn't hurt anyone.”

The cat meowed, and Louis took that as a yes. He got up and started walking around the living room. There were few picture frames out around his flat already, but Louis had seen all of those, and they told him nothing about his boyfriend. Just a picture of Harry with Buttercup, one with the boys, a few of him in different places. There wasn't any with his family though, which was weird. Obviously Harry didn't see them often. So wouldn't he want pictures of them to look at when he missed them? 

He walked over to the small bookshelf he had in the corner and looked through it. No photo albums. Most of the books looked brand new, lined perfectly on the shelf with unbroken spines. A thin layer of dust on the shelf told Louis what he already knew, which was that Harry was always busy. He decided to look around in his bedroom. There was a desk in there, and maybe there was something in there. 

There were a few more pictures in there, one of Harry with a guy he was pretty sure he remembered from Niall’s party. Michael, he was pretty sure his name was. Then another of Buttercup, and one of him and the boys again. He casually looked through the drawers, but besides some paper clips, and blank paper, there wasn't anything really in them. Harry was oddly minimalistic. 

Buttercup came into the room and meowed, rubbing her head against Louis’ leg, friendly again now that she had been fed. Louis sighed and picked her up, petting her. Unfortunately his snooping hadn't really lead anywhere, which was disappointing. 

“So what do you want to do now?” He asked the cat, and again, was disappointed when she did not answer. 

\---

Harry didn’t sleep at all, but don’t think he was obsessing about this because he wasn’t. He just had a lot of work to do. And yeah, of course he was exhausted. It was extremely hard to see someplace decimated like Belfast was and hard to know that you could have had your dick inside the person that caused it. Or that maybe you could have done something to prevent it. If you had worked harder. If you had paid more attention. 

So that’s what he did the night before. He examined all of the reports from the previous bombings. Compared and then compared the elements again. Tried to come up with some sort of comprehensive analysis of why each location was chosen and if London was definitely next. He tried to calculate when that attack might be and if indeed it was intended for the convention center.

He needed to know if it was Cowell or if it was all Louis.

It was probably going to drive him insane. 

That being said, he was ready when the pilot called him at five am and said they were cleared to fly out. It was a quick flight back to London, just barely an hour, and he was on edge the entire flight. He tried to channel the calm he felt when he was flying over, even knowing the terror awaiting him, but now, he felt like he could be shot out of the sky at any moment. 

When they finally landed, his hands didn’t stop shaking. Liam had sent a car to pick him up and he tried to calm down as they worked their way through the traffic. After about ten minutes he felt able to give Liam a call. Liam answered halfway through the first ring.

“M.”

“I can’t imagine that happening to our city, Liam,” Harry’s voice was shaking. “We need to stop it.”

“We will, Harry.” Liam paused. “Are you alright?”

“I worked through the night, I couldn’t sleep after all that.”

“Listen, head home and we can discuss tomorrow morning, okay? Q needs time to process everything anyway. There’s quite a bit of material.”

“I need to come in, I need to sort this out.” 

“You need to sleep or you’re useless.” Harry grumbled. “I mean it Styles, I don’t want to see your face today.”

The car pulled up outside his flat. “Got it, M.” He ended the call and let out a heavy sigh. He grabbed his bag from the seat next to him and thanked the driver before heading into the building.

His hands were still shaking a bit and he knew it was from lack of sleep. He almost wished he was back in his own flat, surrounded by his things and a reminder of what he did and why he did it. He didn’t need his doubts about Louis. He didn’t know what to do with the feelings he was having. He wasn’t used to them, he’d never really had them before. They were probably some reverse kind of Stockholm Syndrome and it would end when the mission ended. He just needed to keep his head on straight until then. 

When Harry got into his apartment he kicked off his shoes by the door and walked like a zombie to his bedroom. His breath caught in his throat when he saw a lump under the covers. Louis was curled up under the white duvet and Buttercup was asleep by his feet. 

Harry pulled his jeans off. He’d worry about his head when he woke up. He climbed under the covers and wrapped his arm around Louis’ middle. It took him no time at all to fall asleep.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

There was something eerier than usual about their weekly debrief meeting. It wasn't even that Belfast had been practically obliterated, though that was horrifying enough. It wasn't that Niall looked ready to storm Cowell’s office and punch him right now. And it wasn't that Zayn looked like he hadn't slept all night (his hair was even tousled and he made no attempt to fix it). No, it was the fact that Liam didn't look put together. Hell, Harry was 98% sure he hadn't even showered, sitting there in his wrinkled shirt without a tie. Rome could fall again, empires topple, seas rise, and Liam would normally take it in stride. He had even looked better that day that Harry had had to fly to China to stop a nuclear bomb. It was the look in his eyes more than anything, Harry thought. Liam looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Harry wasn't sure what to do about this, but he felt like it was his failure. It was his mission after all. 

“Fucking wanker,” Niall broke the silence that had taken over the meeting. They all looked at him. He was looking over the photos Harry had brought in from the site in Belfast. “This is personal now! You absolute fucking bastard, Cowell!”

Liam sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “How did it escalate this much?”

Harry didn't have an answer for that. But Zayn, it seemed, did. “I studied the remnants last night,” he said. “It kind of supports our theory. The components are the same as the Chicago and Sydney bombs, and the methods all varied. The remnants you brought in from the bus depot were detonated remotely, and the others, aside from the car bombs, were timed bombs, which were used in the other cities.”

“And the bomb they were able to stop? Did you find any revealing markers?” Liam asked.

“I was really hoping the intact bomb Harry was able to bring back would give us some kind of clue. Unfortunately, it was blank,” Zayn shook his head. “That's the odd thing. Most bomb makers sign them in some sort of symbol or design mechanism, but there was no signature as far as I can tell. It's just strange, because I feel like I've seen this before.”

“Do you know where?” Harry asked.

Zayn sighed. “I've looked everywhere I can think of, and I just can't seem to place it. Maybe I just imagined it.”

“But it was the same components as the other bombs,” Niall said. “That's fucking evidence enough that it was our cunt of a Prime Minister.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not,” Zayn said. “There were no fingerprints, so nothing to reveal who might have placed it. Plus, he was at a Gala that day, so it’s not like his whereabouts were unaccounted for.”

Liam sighed. “At least they were able to disable that one.”

“It's lucky they did actually,” Zayn said. “It's perfectly intact, and it didn't malfunction. There would have been even more devastation if it had gone off. That bomb is no joke.”

“Too bad they couldn't stop the others,” Harry said quietly. The weight of all this felt heavy on his shoulders. He groaned and put his head down on the table for a second. “Why can't we get ahead of this?”

“We will,” Liam said. Well, at least his confidence in the team wasn't deterred.

Unfortunately for Harry, he didn't feel the same way. “Will we, M? We are literally circling around the same shit over and over again. We are always one step behind this. Whether it's Cowell or Louis or some other fucking twat, we’re no closer to figuring out what the fuck they're planning.”

“We know the convention is the key,” Liam said slowly. “We can't lose hope. We’ll solve this. Somehow. And then we’ll stop it.”

“I'm literally no closer to finding anything out from Louis,” Harry said. 

“You will,” Liam told him. Zayn winced slightly. “I believe in you, H. What's more is that I believe in us. There's never been a case we haven't been able to figure out. And I'll be damned if I let whatever this is be our first loss.”

Niall started clapping, which caused them all to look at him. “What? I thought that was very motivating.”

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes. But then he remembered something. “What about your mission, M? Have you gotten anything from Cole?”

Liam shook his head. “Unfortunately, Cheryl hasn't let anything on. I'm still working on it. If she knows anything, I'll find out what. Then we’ll stop this.”

There was something reassuring in his voice that calmed Harry. Okay, so maybe Liam wasn't wearing a tie, but at least his mind was still sharp as ever. That was comforting. Still. “Great, can you fix yourself up then?”

Liam glared at him. “I am perfectly fine.”

“You're not even wearing a tie, mate,” Harry exclaimed.

“I don't always wear a tie,” Liam rolled his eyes.

“Um, yes you do,” Zayn said. 

“Always,” Harry agreed.

“Even if the world was ending, I'm pretty sure you'd have a tie on,” Zayn added.

“Shut it, you twats,” Liam said. They laughed, so Liam looked at Niall.

“I'll stop by your place at lunch,” Niall simply said.

Thank God for Niall.

\---

Harry was still thinking about Belfast when he met Louis in St James Park later for lunch. It was a beautiful, crisp late September day and he was glad for the fresh air. With the lack of new information, MI6 headquarters was a little stifling. At least, here, he felt like he was doing something. He was collecting information from his source and suspect. And if Louis’ hand in his as they walked through the park was making him feel all warm and fuzzy, well, no one had to know.

They were walking along the lake, just talking about which was better, Wonder Woman or Supergirl, when Louis suddenly stopped. Harry looked at him questioningly. “Are you okay?”

“I forgot the peas!” he exclaimed.

Harry stared at him for a second. “Sorry, what?”

“The peas, Harold, the peas!” He said. “I brought a whole bag of them today to bring here, but I forgot them on my desk like an absolute twat.”

Harry continued to stare at him. “What would -- why -- peas?”

“Yes, for the ducks!” Louis rolled his eyes, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“Okay,” Harry said slowly. “Why would you need peas for the ducks?”

“To feed them,” Louis said in exasperation. “Obviously. What else would I need peas for? They're absolutely vile.”

“Do ducks even eat peas? I thought you're supposed to feed them bread,” Harry asked.

“Bread is bad for them,” Louis rolled his eyes again, but there was a small smirk on his face. “Don't you know anything about ducks?”

“I'm not actually an experienced duck owner, sorry,” Harry deadpanned for about two seconds before they both laughed. “Okay, so you forgot the peas, that's okay, next time.”

“What am I going to do with an entire bag of peas on my desk?” Louis said. “No, let's just go grab them real quick.”

“What?” Harry paused. Grab them? As in go to 10 Downing St and grab the bag of peas from Louis’ desk, from a job Harry didn't even technically know he had. “Can we do that? Do you have enough time on your lunch break to go all the way to work and then come back here?”

Louis smiled mischievously. “Sure, we’ll just have to walk a few feet over there.” He pointed towards where 10 Downing St was. 

“You work for the Prime Minister,” Harry pretended to be surprised. He was a tad bit surprised that Louis was telling him now. “Damn, I was really hoping for a circus worker. I've always wanted to meet an actual clown.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Louis said as they walked there, a huge grin on his face. “I guess it was finally time to let you in on my secret. Your guesses were becoming more and more pathetic. Plus, it would be a little suspicious if I went in and came out with the peas if I didn't tell you.”

“I still stand by the statement that a dragon tamer would be the coolest job ever,” Harry said.

“It would be,” Louis agreed as they stopped by the security gate. “If you didn't have to worry about being burned, and oh yeah, if dragons were real.”

“Well now that I know you work for the government, you could be helping them cover up their existence,” Harry said, trying to sound as logical as possible.

“You caught us. All the PM does all day is cover up the existence of dragons from you mere mortals.” He leaned in and kissed him quickly. “I'm gonna go grab the peas. Be right back.”

“Maybe I should come with you,” Harry said, remembering he had an extra listening bug in his pocket for emergencies. “See if I can find evidence of any dragon cover ups.”

Louis laughed. “Next time, I promise. If I take you in now, everyone will want to meet you, and then my lunch break will be over and those poor ducks will starve.”

Harry sighed dramatically. “I guess my conspiracy theories will have to wait.” He kissed him again, ignoring the way the warm and fuzzy feeling spread through his body. “Hurry back.”

Louis winked and showed his badge to the guard before stepping through and heading towards the door. Harry tried to inconspicuously look around the courtyard without being seen by the cameras. He’d had the layout of the building memorized since the beginning of the case, but he had gone out of his way to give the building a wide berth since going undercover just in case. This was the true seat of power in England, and Harry couldn't help but feel a chill as he thought of the sinister evil residing in it at the very moment. He thought again of Belfast, of the utter destruction he'd seen there, of all of the other places. It was all coming from this building, one way or another. He knew something worse was coming still, and he was going to make damn sure that he stopped it. 

\---

The seats in the conference room looked lovely and plush, but Louis was sat in the back against the wall next to Greg and the other diary secretaries and his bum was hurting from the wooden seats. The Prime Minister and fifteen parliament members, along with some members of his staff, had been arguing about budgetary expenses and cutting funding to several organizations for the last three hours. It seemed like they were finally wrapping it up, which was making Louis ache to stand even more.

He’d been taking meticulous notes on a notepad propped in his lap in his own form of shorthand he’d perfected over the last couple of years, along with discreetly recording the session on his phone. He knew it made some of the delegates uncomfortable, but Cowell preferred to have a recording to go over just in case something was missed in his notes. 

He also secretly thought Ann Marie checked his notes against the recording to see if he was accurate enough. She was rude like that. It had been long enough and she should trust that he was competent at his job.

These meetings were always a little uncomfortable for Louis. He sat with the other secretaries, though he wasn’t really equal to them, but he sure as shit didn’t deserve a seat at the table. So he always sat in the middle of the secretaries and tried to ignore when the others glanced at him as a model - to see what he was writing and what he thought they clearly should be making notes on. He felt incredibly awkward about it in the beginning, but now he mostly ignored it. He was friendly with most all of them now, even though it was a position that had a lot of turnover. 

Greg was the only one he was ever slightly more than friendly with. And he didn’t mean that they totally did it, he meant that they could go to lunch and, if they were permitted to be casual about it all, they could be. He liked that. And okay yeah, so maybe they had been more than slightly friendly in the past, but that was over now that he had Harry. Aside from Jesy, this job felt pretty isolating. It wasn’t that he wasn’t friendly, because he was, honestly more than most of them deserved. But a lot of people at Downing Street had laser focus on their job, since there was always the fear of being replaced in the next turnover, and he was pretty sure they felt enough oversight from Ann Marie and didn’t need any more of it from him. At least that’s what he figured they believed. At least they didn't ask him to spy for them. They tended to know everything already.

He was brought back into focus by Cowell thanking, in his perfectly diplomatic but fake as hell voice, the representative of the Chair of the Environmental Protection subcommittee. Louis was pretty sure that everything he just told the man, Spencer, would be something that would endlessly enrage Prince Charles because Cowell just kind of shit on the environment. Probably to know no one’s surprise. 

He was under no pretense that any of this beliefs matched his bosses’. It was a good thing the party you voted for wasn’t public or he’d be out of a job for sure.

He might have lied a little in his interview all those years ago.

When Cowell rose off his seat, so did the rest of the room. He nodded to them all before turning into conversation with Ann Marie quietly. Louis felt the tension seep from the room. He shifted a little from foot to foot and slowly felt the feeling come back to his thighs and bum. 

“That was an excessive length,” Greg said quietly next to him. Louis peeked over and he could see Greg was facing forward, so he stayed in the same position. He hummed in agreement.

He saw Ann Marie typing quickly on her phone and watched the look of annoyance on Cowell’s face lessen slightly. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and a moment later he heard the same thing from Greg’s. He pulled his phone out and saw the new calendar update he knew was coming. Lunch with G. J. Half 12. 

“Well,” Louis said, turning half of his body towards Greg, “I will see you at our totally organic lunch in two hours.”

“The Ivy?” Greg asked, facing forwards again.

“Perfect.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Greg nod stiffly and then he walked across the room to where his MP was waiting for him. Louis surveyed the room once he was gone, looking for who he should try and schmooze. Ms. Cole, the Home Secretary, was finishing up a conversation across the room with the Culture Secretary. He waited until Ms. Cole stepped away and then he sidled up next to her.

“The Right Honorable Cheryl Cole,” he said and watched her roll her eyes.

“Mr. Tomlinson.”

“How are things going, Ms. Cole?”

“Lovely, dear. I’ve just started seeing someone new and my cleaning lady has recently sorted out the issue I was having with my washing machine.”

He gave her a look.

The thing about Cheryl Cole was that before she had this position and even the one before that and the one before that, they knew each other at uni. Cheryl was finishing up her PhD when Louis was in his first year, but they socialized at a few mixers and she helped coach him on his manifesto for the student elections. 

They’d stayed in contact since then and knowing her had definitely come in handy, but he didn’t like to exploit that relationship for Cowell. When he no longer worked for the man, he hoped to have other avenues and contacts to pursue his goals with. 

But still, Cheryl knew, in this setting, her answer was not the one he was looking for. She was a cabinet member, a member of the Privy Council, and the National Security Council. She knew everything Cowell knew, but she’d actually fill him in on some of it.

“Things are going, Louis, as they always do. Nothing that can’t be handled.”

 

He pursed his lips. “And what about the recent situation in Belfast?” 

“It’s something we’ve got a lot of different people looking into. I personally have had reassurances from people I trust that it’s in the right hands.”

“I’ve been waiting for Cowell to host a meeting for the Threats Subcommittee, but he hasn’t scheduled anything yet. That seems like an oversight.”

“Louis,” she started, lowering her voice, “That’s not your call to make. You keep doing what you’re doing and it will all get sorted in the end.”

“If you insist, Madam Home Secretary.”

She gave him a look and glanced over his shoulder and pasted a smile onto her face. “If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Tomlinson, it seems I’m late for an appointment.”

“Till next time,” he murmured and watched her leave through the side door. When he glanced around he saw that very few Cabinet members were left and Ann Marie was glaring at him from near the door. It was time to move. 

\---

When Gemma had told Harry she was coming into the city this time, she didn’t give him any choice on where the went. She said she was in Marylebone to do some shopping and she chose their lunch date based on a recommendation she heard from one of her favorite youtubers. So he wasn’t exactly sure what this was going to be like. She was waiting outside when he got out of his taxi with a big bag from Selfridges slung over her arm. 

“I see you’ve been productive today,” he said to her, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek. 

“And you.” She gestured down to his black jeans, which he’d thought to rub some flour onto before he left the house. “Couldn’t even change before stepping out to see your favorite sister?”

“Didn’t seem like much of a point, I’ve got to get right back to it after having lunch with my only sister.”

She rolled her eyes fondly at him. “Shall we then?” She gestured towards the door and led them into the cafe. The waited briefly for a table before being sat by a large window. 

“It’s nice in here,” Harry said, looking around at the expensive and tasteful looking decor. “I’ve never been to The Ivy Cafe before.”

Gemma snorted. “You wouldn’t have. Other people actually know it exists and it isn’t in a basement or hidden down a dirty alley.”

“Excuse you, I have never taken you to a bad meal.”

“There is good food everywhere in London and somehow you always find the most far out and random places. Not complaining, just commenting.”

“Sure, ‘commenting’ is what you’re doing.”

“I’m just saying, isn’t this nice for a change?”

Harry looked around the bright room, with the exposed brick on the back wall and the carefully chosen art pieces decorating the walls. “It is a nice change,” he said with a smile.

Gemma looked pleased with herself at his admission and she kept the look on her face all the way through placing her order. Harry was resigned to letting her have this moment. It made him a little uneasy to be out of his comfort zone with someone he desperately wanted to keep away from everything else, but it was only one lunch. 

After their drinks were brought over Gemma pushed her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “So tell me, are you still seeing that guy? Mum thinks it's ‘beautiful’,” she said with air quotes around the word, “that you’ve settled down. But I’m not sure I believe it yet.”

Harry felt a blush creep up onto his cheeks. That was not meant to happen. Not at all. He tried to cool his face with a frown, but Gemma was already bouncing in her seat.

“Oh my gosh,” she said loudly and then repeated in a harsh whisper. 

“No, no, no,” Harry said holding up his hands.

“Don’t try to deny it.” She had a sickening grin on her face. Harry felt panicked. “Look at you, you’re glowing. My God, if I didn’t know better I’d believe you were knocked up.”

“But you do know better,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “You changed my nappies, so you know better.”

“It’s a figure of speech,” she said with a wave of her hand. 

“Literally nowhere is that a figure of speech.” Harry felt a desperate need to change the subject. “Anyway, he’s fine. Things are fine. Maybe I’ll break up with him just to shut you up.”

“You will not,” she teased. “You’re glowing.”

Harry groaned dramatically. 

Thankfully their food arrived to distract Gemma from pestering him about his love life. While they ate they talked about more neutral topics like how her latest project at work was going and the new flowers their mum was starting to grow. He even tossed in a few baking ideas he was ‘thinking about’ that he had googled earlier that morning. He expertly ignored the look of disappointment that he still hadn’t left his job.

By the time he was finishing up his lunch his face had finally cooled from his embarrassment. Which was made worse by the embarrassment over being embarrassed to begin with. 

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket as Gemma told him about her plans for the rest of the day and he chose to ignore it. 

He probably shouldn’t have.

Five minutes later it buzzed again. He ignored it again.

Then three minutes.

Then it started to ring loudly. He fumbled as he pulled it out of his pocket. Goddamn, Niall.

“Since when have you liked the Bourne movies?” Gemma asked with a quirked eyebrow.

He chose to answer the phone rather than her.

“Yeah?” He said. Gemma raised her eyebrow at that greeting as well.

“You need to move.” Niall said briskly.

“What?” Harry asked, excusing himself from the table. He walked through the restaurant towards the bathrooms. “What’s going on?”

“Have you not been getting the alerts?” Niall said. “Nevermind. Louis is a block away. You need to go.”

“Shit. Gemma’s with me.”

“Well, unless you’d like an impromptu meeting that literally spells disaster you have to get going.”

“Okay, okay.” Harry tried to remain calm. “We are in the Ivy, Marylebone Ln. Is there a back exit?”

“The Ivy? H, this is why you check your phone. He is literally heading your way. No paths crossing about it, you are in for a face to face meeting.”

“Well get me out of it then, Ni,” Harry glanced over his shoulder at Gemma. She was staring blankly out the window and picking at her food with her fork. He turned to scan the rest of the room. It was fairly open and there was no space in which someone seated wouldn’t see you leave through the front. 

“There’s a door through the kitchen,” Niall said finally. “Louis is half a block away.”

“I’ve got it, Niall. Keep me updated.”

Harry hung up and stopped quickly by the register. He handed the waitress a fifty pound note and smile before heading back to his sister.

“So sorry, Gems,” he said, pulling her chair out. She looked startled up at him. “There’s been an emergency at the bakery.”

She snorted and then tried to cover it up. “What, did you run out of flour?”

He sighed and gave her a slight glare. “A whole batch of bread just blew up. Some sort of yeast problem. But I need to get back to work.”

“Oh, okay. Let’s just get the bill.”

“I already paid.” His phone was still in his hand and he felt it buzz again. He looked down and saw 100 meters. Abort ABORT. Harry swallowed hard. She would not move fast enough for that. He quickly ran through his options. “Actually, Gems. Why don’t you stay,” He pulled out his wallet and laid a tenner on the table. “Get the Chocolate Bomb you were so excited about and a cappuccino and I’ll catch you next time, okay?”

He leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek and ignored her protest. His phone buzzed and he knew he was really out of time now. 

“You’re being weird,” she said.

He noticed a waiter walking towards him and a large group of people getting up to leave. He hated himself for it, but as he stepped back he lightly shoved a man in his forties into the waiter and caused a whole tray of drinks to spill. The man cursed. Gemma turned to watch the fiasco unfold and Harry slipped out through the back. 

He thought he saw Louis pushing the door open just as he stepped through the one to the kitchen.

 

\---

Louis swore he saw a cascade of curly hair on a Bambi-esque body disappear into the bathrooms when he walked in and he was on slight edge for the first ten minutes of his lunch that Harry would come stumbling out and he would awkwardly have to introduce him to Greg. 

It was distracting and he accidentally ordered a green juice because he pointed at the menu randomly when the waitress asked. He could see Greg trying to hold back his laughter when it was brought over and now Louis was stuck trying to gulp it down because he was too embarrassed to ask for something else and a little too stingy to waste the four pounds. 

He was just too focused on Harry. It was one thing telling him about his job. It was another to let him actually see it in action. That wasn’t something he was sure he wanted. 

Once he’d been sure it wasn’t him, he finally got down to business with Greg. Which was good, because they had much to discuss. 

And anyway, he thought he’d seen the same man give the pretty blonde by the window a smooch before he disappeared. So it probably wasn’t Harry at all. Because Harry wouldn’t be playing him like that, so it wasn’t possible it was him. Really, it wasn’t. 

\---

After Harry ducked out the back which led into a small side street he went to turn left so he could double back around the building and he was faced with a dead end. This was why he always scoped out places to bring Gemma beforehand. This is why he didn’t let her choose. If he wanted to get eyes back on Gemma and Louis he was going to have to go by the very large window out front. This was not ideal.

He gave Niall a call back. He picked up before the first ring was even finished. “That was too close, Haz.”

“You don’t need to fucking tell me that,” Harry kicked at the curb. “What happened? He wasn’t scheduled to be anywhere at lunch today.”

“His schedule updated an hour or so ago.” Harry cursed. “I cannot stress enough, and neither can Liam who was yelling in my ear for ten minutes, that you need to stay on this case at all times. It doesn’t matter if you are with family. It doesn’t matter if you’re sleeping, shitting, or, fucking. This takes priority. Liam’s words. Well, okay I paraphrased a bit.”

“I get it, Niall,” Harry kicked the curb again. “I need eyes on and in that building immediately. I had to leave Gemma in there with him. The entrance I left from doesn’t have a way for me to circumvent the entrance. I’ll have to go by the window out front.”

He could hear Niall typing furiously on his computer. He also heard a muffled curse, which must have been Zayn next to him instructing him where to look.

“Okay,” Niall sighed. “I can see you. CCTV above the doorway.”

Harry squinted up at the camera. 

“I’ve got about four other cameras out front, but no CCTV on the inside.” Niall continued. The phone crackled for a second before his voice came out farther away. “I put you on speaker, I’m here with Zayn.”

“Can you see them inside?”

“I’ve got Gemma by the window near the front of the shop across the streets camera. It’s grainy and I can only see about half of her before the frame cuts off. The next camera doesn’t come in until farther down the building,” Zayn said.

“No eyes on Louis,” Niall said. 

“He could be sitting at a center table or one of the booths in the back.” Harry said remembering the layout inside. 

“I don’t think there is a way you can get around without being spotted by Gemma,” Niall said.

“Unless you want to scale a drainpipe,” Zayn suggested.

“I know you don’t go outside very often, Zayn, but that’s not as easy as it sounds,” Harry sighed.

“I mean,” Zayn started, “it didn’t sound very easy. It’s just the only chance I see if you stay where you are. Or you can wait there for the next couple of hours or however long it takes for them to leave. Maybe hide in a bin.”

“The chances of being seen are too high. I can’t risk being arrested.” 

“You’ve got your lock picking kit?” Niall asked.

“Yeah,” Harry said patting his pocket. He looked at the doors surrounding him. He doubted any of them connected to the other side of the street. 

“If you can be quick about it,” Niall said. “And I mean quick, there is a door to the apartments at a slight diagonal up the street. If you were able to get into a flat on the second or third floor you might be able to see into the cafe.”

“That’s a serious risk,” Harry said. “What if someone is home?”

“Well…” Zayn said. “I could use satellite thermal imaging software to check for activity. It might have some issues with different floors, so there is still some risk.”

“Fuck it,” Harry said, moving up the street. “This is probably the best chance. I’m going in.”

He tucked the phone into his pocket, but didn’t hang up. He wished he’d thought ahead and brought an earpiece so he could go hands free, but he hadn’t thought this was the way the lunch would go. He gave the lock on the door a quick scan before pulling his tools out. He wasn’t the fastest at this, but he did know you couldn’t rush it so he focused instead. He could sense how anxious Niall was being over the phone. He always got that way. 

Even though Niall wasn’t an agent, he was excellent at picking a lock. It was a talent that Niall refused to tell him why or how he picked up. Harry respected it. Liam did not because he always whined about it. 

Finally, finally, the door gave way and he walked in as casually as he could muster. He heard Niall cheer through the tinny speakers of his phone. 

“Okay, how was that?” Harry pulled the phone out of his pocket. 

“Forty five seconds,” Zayn said. “Not your fastest time, but impressive considering the situation.”

“I could have done better,” Niall said.

Harry chose to ignore him. “Where to next?”

“Up one floor and to the right,” Zayn said. “It looks like the second room on the left should overlook the cafe and be empty. No pets as far as we can see.”

“Okay,” Harry said hauling his arse up the stairs. He turned to the right and then paused outside of the second door. “You’re sure?”

“Pick the lock, Styles,” Niall said.

He worked this one as quick as he could and tried to keep breathing. He knew this wasn’t necessarily a life or death situation, but he left his sister there. And his new feelings for Louis aside, what if. Just because he’d gone stupid over him didn’t mean he would risk Gemma’s life. The lock gave finally with a soft click.

“Not as good as before,” Zayn said quietly. Niall scoffed.

Harry ignored it. Instead he moved softly through the flat. The living room was empty so he moved through and glanced in the kitchen before moving quietly towards the bedroom. He wished he had his gun just in case even though he was the one who broke in. It would make him feel safer. The bedroom door was mostly closed and he took a deep breath before pushing it open as quietly as he could. It was empty. He checked the closet just in case, but it was empty as well. He looked into the bathroom on his way back before finally speaking through to Niall and Zayn.

“We’re clear.”

He heard them both let out a gust of air.

“Way to keep us hanging Styles,” Niall chastised him.

He moved across the living room and knelt in front of the window. He could see right into the Cafe. He could see where Gemma was sitting with a near empty plate smeared with chocolate. It looked like she was chatting with the waitress and getting ready to leave. 

“I see Gemma.” Harry squinted through the glass. He wished he had his binoculars with him; he takes Zayn’s gadgets for granted. He scanned across the room. “I see Louis. He’s at a table a row over and three tables behind Gemma and in the middle of the room. He’s seated with another man. I can’t see him very well.”

“The calendar update said ‘G. J.’ for who his lunch companion would be,” Niall added.

“We should find out who this mystery companion is.” Harry continued to look through the window, but the man’s face was turned slightly into the shadows. He looked back to Gemma and she was standing up now and reaching for her shopping bags. “Gemma is on the move.”

He was watching Gemma so closely he almost missed the way Louis shifted in his seat. He spared a glance to him and he was almost leaning out of his chair watching Gemma pick up her things and walk out of the Cafe.

“We can see her, H,” Niall said through his phone.

He watched Louis watch her as she walked past the windows of the restaurant and he didn’t turn until she was out of sight. “So did Louis,” Harry said. “He watched her like a hawk.”

Neither of them said anything over the phone.

“What is going on!” He said loudly.

“Maybe he saw you with her.”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s highly probable actually. It could even be that he thinks he saw something. See, this is why we don't ignore the alerts.”

Harry was silent for a moment, still watching Louis through the window. He had turned back to his companion and resumed their conversation. He wished he had his binoculars. He wished he knew how to read lips this far away. 

“We need a picture of who he is with. There are too many possibilities on who it could be based on initials alone,” Zayn said,

“Got it.” Harry switched his phone over to the camera app. “Show me your face,” Harry whispered.

“You are so weird,” Niall whispered back.

Harry ignored him. He wished he had a better camera than an iPhone on him. Niall and Zayn stayed silent on the phone, but he could hear them typing away. Probably doing the best they could with what little information they had. 

Finally, the man turned slightly into the light. It was only him in profile, but he snapped several photos as quickly as he could. He looked down and as sent them over to Zayn.

“I got him. It’s not a great photo, but it’s a starting point.”

 

Harry looked back up and held his camera at the ready in case the man turned. He was just about to suggest they create some kind of scene in the cafe so he would be forced to turn his head when he lost his train of thought.

He watched Louis tip his head back in laughter. He could imagine the crinkles by his eyes and how blue they would look through his squinting eyes. He could practically hear it ringing out around him. He swallowed hard. It was easy to think about Louis as a bad guy usually, but when he laughed and when he smiled it made Harry’s insides turn to goo and he really needed for it to stop. 

His eyes had glazed over for a second and he already knew it was a mistake, but when he came back into focus he couldn't help the “What the fuck” that tumbled out of his mouth.

“What is it?” Niall said loudly.

“What do you see?” Zayn said, typing furiously over the phone.

What did he see? That prick’s hand resting on Louis’ over the table. It was just for a moment, but still. He touched him. Louis laughed like he laughed when Harry made bad jokes and then this big, fat tosser held his hand and he didn’t get a slap in the face. That was what fucking happened.

For as quick as it enraged him, he tried to calm down about it. He was not supposed to feel jealousy. He wasn’t. And he didn't. It wasn’t jealousy. He swore it.

“Harry?” Niall called.

“Sorry,” he said and paused. “I stubbed my toe.”

“You’re kneeling down,” Zayn said.

“Weird how those things happen, huh?” Harry forced out a chuckle.

He could feel the look Zayn would be giving him, but he refused to address it. Just as the silence stretched to an awkward length, the prick did what Harry had been waiting for: he glanced at the window. Harry snapped the photo.

“I got him,” Harry said. He sent the photo to Zayn, but refused to move from his spot. He needed to see what happened next.

\---

Harry had a serious problem. It was not okay. This was not okay. He was pacing and freaking out. Because this was not okay. He shouldn't feel like this. He couldn't. Forget about the fact that he was breaking just about every rule in the goddamn handbook. Forget that he knew better. Louis was a possible freaking terrorist! They were not supposed to be likeable, especially by him. Oh God, Liam was going to shoot him. He was actually going to shoot him. Probably somewhere non-lethal like in the shin, just so he could be saved and then shot again.

“Hey, man,” Jeff came into his office. “You called for me?”

“Jeff, yes, hey, mate,” Harry said hurriedly. This was good. He'd talk to Jeff. Jeff would set him straight and he'd get over -- whatever this was. He couldn't talk to the boys, for once. Niall would never let him hear the end of it. Zayn would probably invent something just to kill him as painfully as possible, all the while determined that this meant Louis was innocent, which. Harry still wasn't sure. And Liam. Well, that was already covered, what with the shooting him in the shin and all.

But the biggest thing was that they didn't understand. Not even Liam, who used to be a field agent as well before he got promoted, because he would never even fathom something that broke the rules like this. But Niall and Zayn, they weren't field agents. They didn't know what it was like, living a lie not just about where you work, but who you are, going undercover. They wouldn't understand. But Jeff, Jeff did this stuff all the time. He was a field agent for the CIA. He worked undercover just as much as Harry, and so he was the only one Harry could talk to. Hopefully Jeff could set him straight. That was all he needed. He needed someone who understood to snap him out of it.

“Sit, please, I need -- I need to tell you something,” Harry said hurriedly. 

Jeff raised an eyebrow at him, but did as he commanded. “What's going on, Styles?”

Harry let out a deep breath. He knew he had to do this, but it was still hard. “I think I've crossed a line.”

He saw the moment Jeff understood what he was saying, though he didn't look too surprised. “You know why you can't do this,” Jeff said quietly.

“I know! I know,” Harry said, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. “He could be a terrorist. And it's literally against every rule in the book. I just, I've never felt this way before, and I don't know how to turn it off.”

Jeff looked at him sadly. “I don't know if you can turn it off,” he admitted. “But you have to understand, Harry. If he is a terrorist, and the signs are pointing towards him being one, we will have to take him down. You’ll have to take him down. If you can't, or won't, you'll be branded a traitor, and we will have to take you down.”

Harry was a bit taken back at the resolution in his voice. He knew this. He knew he'd be an enemy of the state, and a fugitive if he did anything to stop them from taking Louis down if he was guilty, that is, if he didn't take him down himself. His friends would have to turn on him. He'd probably never see Niall or Zayn or Liam again. Hell, he'd never see anyone again, including Gemma and his mum. And Liam would have to shoot him. He knew that, and yet, he hadn't really accepted it until this moment, until he heard it said aloud by someone else.

“And say Louis is innocent,” Jeff continued, leaning forward slightly in his chair. “Your entire relationship with him is a lie. He knows nothing about you, the real you. You may be dating Louis Tomlinson, diary secretary to the Prime Minister, who has an impeccably organized calendar and wears really tight trousers, but he's not dating you. He's dating Harry Styles, IT man, who travels for business, lives in a nice flat near his place, and hangs out with his mates and has no worries of national security, though you do wear the tightest jeans ever too. But that's not you. That's not any of us, ever. We aren't our covers, Harry. You have to remember that.”

Harry knew Jeff was right. Louis didn't really know much about him, the real him. Sure, he didn't pretend with his personality, but everything else, everything about his life was fake short of Buttercup and his friendship with the boys. Still, everything he liked about Louis, how funny he was, how he made that face when he was concentrating on something, how he was with his siblings and mum, how sweet he could be, and how much he enjoyed being around him, that was real. Unbearably so. And he had no idea how to unfeel that way.

He groaned and covered his face with his hands. He was fucked. 

“I wish I could be of more help, Harry,” Jeff said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder as he stood. “You haven't crossed a line yet. You're still completing the mission, and if he is guilty, you can't let anything you may or may not feel stand in the way of justice. Just remember what side you're on, and you'll be okay.”

\---

Harry couldn't stop thinking about us conversation with Jeff, and more importantly, he couldn't stop remembering exactly how he felt when he saw Louis at lunch with that mystery man. He thought about it all the way home, then he thought about it some more when Louis came over with pizza, and was still thinking about now that they were lying back on his bed.

“So I thought I saw you today,” Louis said conversationally, pulling Harry out of his thoughts. His tone was a little too controlled.

“What?” Harry kept his voice as neutral as possible. He thought he'd been careful enough. Damn it. This was why Gemma was not allowed to pick the places they ate. “Where?”

“At The Ivy,” Louis said in the same tone. “Around lunch time?”

“That was my evil twin,” Harry said, nodding dramatically. “He likes frequenting posh restaurants.”

Louis rolled his eyes, though the start of a smile was tugging at his lips. “Well, your evil twin was enjoying himself at The Ivy with a pretty blonde.”

“A blonde?” Harry scoffed. Internally, he was panicking. He remembered seeing Louis watch Gemma like a hawk as she walked out. It made him nervous to think why he'd be that concerned with her. “I thought he had better taste.”

“Oh? She was very pretty,” Louis said, his voice sounding slightly different now. What was that? It almost sounded like relief. “So what did you for lunch then?

“Just ate at my desk, unfortunately,” he sighed. “Had a bunch of paperwork to do for my last trip abroad still.”

Louis smiled fully now. “I'm very sorry for you.”

“It was very taxing,” he pouted. “At least my evil twin had a good time.”

Louis snickered and leaned over to kiss him, their lips meeting briefly before he laid back on the bed.

“I ate so much,” Louis groaned. “I'm so stuffed.”

“I'll stuff you with something else,” Harry said before he could stop himself. He heard the exact moment it clicked for Louis, what he had just said, because Louis completely froze. He didn't even breathe.

And then he started laughing, hard. “That was so bad, Harold,” he said in between laughs. “Oh my God, I am feeling secondhand embarrassment for you right now.”

Harry snickered and leaned over, connecting their lips again. Louis laughed into it, but he kissed him back just the same. It didn't take long for the kiss to turn more heated. When Harry took Louis’ bottom lip between his teeth, he wasn't laughing anymore. Harry shifted so he was on top of Louis, supported by his hands next to Louis’ head and his knees on either side of him. 

Harry kissed along his jaw and saw Louis close his eyes, his hands gripping Harry’s shirt, tugging it up. Harry leaned back on his knees, his eyes connecting with Louis’ as he took the shirt off. Louis reached up to run his hands up and down Harry’s, chest paying ample attention to his nipples.

Harry leaned down to kiss him again, grinding his hips into Louis’. He smirked slightly when he felt Louis’ hard cock against his thigh. He felt a strange surge of pride in knowing he had made Louis that hard, not that guy in the restaurant. He quickly shut that down. He wasn't supposed to have thoughts like that.

Instead, he reached between them and undid Louis’ trousers. He felt Louis inhale a sharp breath as Harry pressed his hand against Louis’ cock through his pants. Harry bit back a smirk. Just as quickly as he had worked his way into them, he pulled his hand out from Louis’ trousers.

“You're being a tease,” Louis gasped into Harry’s mouth.

“Am I?” Harry asked innocently. He kissed along Louis’ neck, licking at his earlobe. 

“Yes,” Louis whined. He pushed Harry back a little and pulled his own shirt off his head. He tried to wiggle out of his trousers, but Harry’s weight was heavy on his thighs. Louis sighed dramatically, but he had a grin on his face. “I'm not going to put out for you every time if you're going to be a tease.”

Harry smirked, his hand reaching into Louis pants, his fingers trailing around Louis’ cock. Louis moaned softly at the contact, and it made the smirk on Harry’s face grow wider. “Yes, you are. Especially since I always make it worth your while.”

Louis scoffed as Harry got off of him, standing instead at the end of the bed. He leaned up onto his elbows. “I'm not sure how this is ‘worth my while’.”

Harry just continued smirking as he pulled Louis down to the foot of the bed, and slowly dragged his pants off. “Turn around. All fours.”

Louis sucked in a breath as he got what Harry was saying and turned around, getting into position and leaning on his elbows. Harry pushed a pillow underneath him for when he inevitably knew Louis’ knees would give out. Harry was mesmerized by the sight before him. There was just something about Louis’ arse that made him feel a certain of way. He grabbed at Louis’ arse, loving the way it felt in his hands. “I'm going to make you come apart,” Harry said lowly as he leaned forward, his teeth nipping at Louis’ left cheek.

“Fuck,” Louis moaned softly. 

Harry debated for a second if he should tease Louis for a bit longer, remind him just whose hands and mouth were making him come undone, but, he couldn't feel like that. He wouldn't. 

Harry used his hands to spread Louis’ cheeks so that he could breathe hot air against his hole.

“Harry,” Louis whined. 

Harry smirked slightly before he placed a light kiss on Louis’ hole. 

“Fuck, Harry, I'm going to punch you in about two --”

Harry didn't let him finish, licking over his crack firmly. Louis whined again, though this time it was not in frustration. Harry licked over him again and again, spreading his cheeks to get at his hole better, making him wet with saliva. 

Louis stopped whining then, his hand coming back to pull at Harry’s hair, and Harry took that as a sign to step it up a notch. He pushed his tongue in just slightly, hearing Louis moan. He could feel the pleasure roll down Louis’ body as Harry’s body curled around him. 

“Fuck, Harry,” Louis said again, breathlessly. Harry could picture Louis’ face pressed into Harry’s sheets, his mouth open and his eyes fluttering. Harry knew Louis’ hands were curled up into the sheets, one of them might be curled in his hair, tugging it a bit. He gave Louis’ bum a squeeze and felt Louis’ hips, impossibly, push farther back onto his face. 

Harry fucked into Louis with his tongue, over and over again. The sounds Louis was making were muffled a bit as Harry buried his face deeper in his arse, but he didn't care. He didn't need to hear Louis to know Louis was coming undone. He knew it wouldn't take long for Louis to come like this, especially from the way Louis was now rocking back on his tongue like he needed more.

Harry pulled back suddenly, and placed a light kiss on his cheek. “What do you want, Lou?” He asked, as he bit at his arse.

“Fuck, Harry, why'd you - Harry,” Louis whined. 

Harry lightly traced a finger along Louis’ crack, letting it catch just slightly on his hole. “Want me to keep going, babe?” He teased. “Want me to make you come right now? Or do you want to come on my cock?”

Louis groaned, his head falling to the bed for a moment like he was thinking about it. Harry couldn't help the smirk that came to his lips. “I want to come right now,” he said finally. “Fuck, Harry, please.”

“Hold yourself open, babe,” Harry said softly, nodding, though Louis couldn't see him as he grabbed his arse cheeks, revealing his rosy bud to Harry again. Harry dived in, not easing into it this time. His mouth pressed into Louis’ arse over and over again, his tongue wet and teasing against Louis. Harry reached around him to wrap one hand over Louis’ cock, giving a few tight strokes.

It didn’t take long for Louis to moan Harry’s name loudly as came over his stomach, sagging into the bed. Harry licked him through it, gentle and firm all at once. He waited until Louis came down from his orgasm to turn him around, moving up his body to kiss his lips. Louis returned the kiss eagerly, albeit a little lazily as he reached between them and grabbed Harry’s cock.

Harry groaned into Louis’ mouth as Louis stroked his cock, his hand warm and firm around Harry. It didn't take long until Harry shuddered, feeling his orgasm take over.

He slumped down against Louis, who sighed dramatically. “So I guess you really did stuff me with something.”

Harry froze for a second before he laughed, his face buried in Louis’ neck. “You're the worst.”

Louis kissed his cheek and pushed him off, grabbing his hand and pulling him off the bed. “Come on, I want to shower. And if you're nice to me, I'll let you wash my hair.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but there was a smile as he followed Louis to the bathroom. Yeah, he was fucked.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Zayn had found the name of the person Louis was at lunch with before they had even finished eating. Once he had the photo he was able to move through the possibilities quickly. But a lot of good a name did Harry. Greg James. They were having a sort of emergency meeting to discuss the situation first thing on Monday morning and he had spent the whole weekend thinking about it. And trying not to think about it. 

But Harry was ready when Monday morning came. Jeff and Zayn had said they would handle creating a file on Greg, but Harry had a lot of questions and he wished he had been allowed to do some of the investigating. Liam told him his focus had to be on Louis and they would handle the rest, but the problem was that too much of his focus at this point was on Louis. His talk with Jeff hadn’t made him feel any better - actually, it had made him feel a great deal worse. 

But that was neither here nor there, they had business to attend to his morning and he had to learn about the man who dare touch Louis. Not that… Well, not that that had anything to do with his concern. It didn’t. He just needed to have a more well rounded view of Louis’ life. He had thought he had had all the major players down, but maybe not. Maybe there were other people lurking in the shadows that Louis didn’t call or text, but with whom he had clandestine lunches with in trendy restaurants. 

For once Harry wasn’t the last to arrive. Liam had considered using a conference room, but the exclusion of the rest of the office from the meeting had set him on edge so instead they were all crowded in Liam’s office. Liam and Niall were there already looking at a file. Jesy was lounging in one of the chairs and Jeff was looking out through the window. After Harry arrived they were only waiting on Zayn.

He arrived only a moment after Harry. “Good, everyone's here.”

He had a stack of files under his arm and he opened it up and gave each of them a thick pile of papers. Harry scanned it briefly. It was in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent meeting at the end of last week. It went back years. He flipped to the end which had several different photos of Greg James taken from surveillance cameras around the city and they were stamped in the corner with the date and time. 

“Greg James,” Liam started before pausing for what Harry could imagine was only for dramatic effect. “Greg James works for the Speaker of the House of Commons, Simon Jones, and fills a similar role as Louis. It looks like they have been in contact for close to two years, but there is really no public record of their relationship, nor much of any private record.”

Niall piped up while Liam paused again. “And really, there shouldn’t be. Jones’ and Cowell’s offices shouldn’t really be in contact and the shadiness of this is a little concerning.”

“And why is that?” Jeff asked.

“When elected to that position Jones should have relinquished all affiliation to his party,” Liam said. “Any sort of favoritism is frowned upon and this level of secretism seems to be concerning.”

“Maybe they were secret lovers?” Harry tried to keep his voice neutral when he said it, but inside he was waiting for someone to rebuke that. He saw Jeff give him a quick glance.

“Actually,” Zayn said, looking up from the packet. Harry’s head whipped around to face him. “It seems like, at least for a time, they were.”

“Wait, really?” Jesy leaned forward in her chair, finally interested in the conversation. “I didn’t hear anything like that when I tried to ask around the office. Just the general stuff about what he was like and things like that.”

Zayn grimaced. “Turn to page twelve in your packet.”

Harry did so quickly. The page was filled by two photographs. One was them entering the back of a restaurant together. Nothing overly suspicious about that. The next was time stamped twelve minutes later. Greg was in front of Louis, much closer to the camera indicating he had left the back maybe thirty seconds before. 

He stared at both the photos, going back and forth between them as quick as possible and spotting the differences. Louis’ shirt was partially untucked. Greg’s features were softer and his collar was flattened on the left hand side. Harry checked the date. March 1st. Well shit.

“Did you have any idea about this, Zayn?” Liam asked.

“He never mentioned anything.” 

“Well, if that’s all this was, a short tryst, I guess it wasn't all that shady after all,” Jesy said, making to stand up. 

“That’s just a footnote in what was happening,” Zayn said. “We checked Louis’ calendar history going back two years and there were ten meetings between him and Greg. We cross referenced those dates with any sort of activity by either the House of Commons or the Prime Minister and there were hits on several of those. It could be coincidental. Or they could be using these lunch dates between Louis and Greg to pass information.”

“That seems like a lot of effort, doesn’t it?” Jesy said.

“Actually,” Jeff said. “It’s really smart. This way there is no paper trail. Think about how long this has been going on and not a single person has noticed. Until us, that is. And really, that was by accident.”

“Jeff and I watched as much footage as we could. The calendar alerts don’t have locations on them so we had to do our best to track Louis across the city on various CCTV cameras. There was only one meeting prior to this one since Harry planted the bugs. That one we were able to track from his GPS coordinates. Of the locations we were able to track Louis to, only three of them had cameras I was able to hack into inside the restaurant,” Zayn explained. 

“Okay, and...?” Harry asked.

“And nothing,” Jeff said. “It looked like two colleagues having lunch. They seemed friendly. They chatted amicably throughout their lunch and after they ate they left in separate directions.”

“So, it really might be a coincidence,” Jesy said.

“We thought so,” Jeff said.

“But last night I had an idea,” Zayn said. “I went back and tried to track the calendar updates. Because of the bug in his phone I was able to see if the recent one and the one in July were added by him. Weird thing is, they weren’t. His calendar was updated remotely.”

“What does that mean?” Harry asked.

“It means,” Liam said. “That someone else was scheduling these meetings for them and Greg and Louis were going where they were told to.”

“It means,” Zayn said. “That there is a very high chance that they are passing some sort of information back and forth to each other, but I have no way of knowing who is initiating the meetings.” 

Well, Harry wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad news. If someone else was scheduling the meetings it might mean that Louis wasn’t working alone and plotting anything by himself. He might not even know what he was doing or saying. That would be good, right? That would mean he was just an innocent bystander in whatever was going on.

Alternatively, and he really hated to even think it, maybe Louis was going to these meetings because someone else told him to, but that didn’t mean he was relaying the correct information to either party. He could still be in this alone. Without knowing what this information was, they had no real idea if this was a clue that even mattered. 

And then there was Greg. Louis had never told Harry that he used to sleep with a guy he knew from work. But, rationally, Harry knew Louis didn’t need to. Lord knew he hadn’t told Louis about everyone he’d been with, but still. It was eating at him that this had happened.

“Okay, but am I the only one bothered that they were sleeping together during their work lunches?” Harry asked. He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Jeff gave him a slight glare and a shake of his head. Niall burst out laughing and underneath that he heard Liam sigh. Zayn looked at him with disgust and Jesy looked quizzical.

Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say. Maybe he should have said something about the rest of what Zayn had said, but it seemed less important. And that had nothing to do with his feelings, no matter what the looks Jeff gave him were trying to imply. 

 

\---

The start of the third quarter was always Louis’ favorite time of the year. It didn’t really have to do with autumn finally arriving and the return of the pumpkin spice latte. He didn’t get a raise or a bonus, nothing that exciting. But it was when they got a tech upgrade at the office. Everyone with a government issued phone got an upgrade at the start of third quarter which was much needed since he had completely maxed out his storage on the one he had now and the use of cloud storage was seriously frowned upon.

For that reason he had a spring in his step as he walked into the office on Wednesday. He was getting a new phone and then this evening he’d be with his best friend and his boyfriend losing at a quiz and it would be an all over glorious day. 

He waved to Jesy on his way to his desk and it wouldn’t be so far off as to say that he was downright giddy. They each had scheduled times to return their old phones and have their files transferred to their new ones and he was one of the first. That had a lot to do with the fact that he was the one who made the schedule. He was prepared to argue, in case anyone asked, that he wanted to be sure the whole process went smoothly. 

In reality he was just excited for something new and shiny.

He typed away on his computer while keeping one eye on the clock until it hit 9 am. He scooted out of his chair with a little boogie in his step and made his way down the corridor where the Met Police had set up shop with some of their tech guys. 

They seemed to be the same ones from last year so he cracked a couple jokes with them and whistled a little as they plugged his phone in to transfer the files. The one on the right, Andy, Louis thought his name was, pulled a new phone out of a box and started taking off all the plastic casing. They had to load all of their security features onto it and also link his calendar and email with his computer and Ann Marie’s, so he knew it was going to take some time. 

The other techie, was pulling apart his old phone. He was a little sad to see it go, but he was getting over it rather quickly. She unscrewed the back of it and ran her fingers across the inside. It all looked the same in there to him, but she must have known what she was looking for. She’d probably get along well with Zayn. 

A look passed over her face and Louis leaned forward to try and see what she was looking at. She pulled out a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers. 

It was dumb, but his first thought was what kind of snack had he managed to get lodged in a place he didn’t even know existed. 

But then she called for Andy to take a look. He frowned at the phone and then looked at Louis and then back down to the phone. 

What the fuck is in there?

“Is there a problem?” He asked. He tried to sound casual about it, but he wasn’t even sure what the issue would be.

“Well,” Andy started. He looked at Louis again like he was trying to figure him out. “There’s a possibility your phone has been compromised.”

“What does that mean?” He asked, starting to freak out. 

“It means there is a transmitting device in your phone,” the female officer said. She pointed with her pinky. “Right here.”

He leaned over the table, but he didn’t see anything. “Okay, but what does that mean?”

“It means that someone has been gathering your personal and professional information. Anything you’ve stored on your phone, your calls, your texts, your emails. Your calendar. All compromised. Someone has been gathering all this information from your phone.”

Holy shit. 

Andy turned away from him and back to the woman. “We need to start immediately on finding out where this came from. We are going to need to know what’s been compromised.”

She was nodding along with Andy. She turned to Louis. “We are going to need to speak with Cowell about this and get set up with a computer in order to hack it.”

He nodded dumbly. He was at a complete loss for words.

Andy started packing up some of the tools they had spread across the table. She went outside the door and told the next person waiting that they were temporarily putting a halt to technology changes and that when they were ready they would call for them to come up. Louis stayed motionless in the center of the room. Someone had been spying on him. He felt so violated.

Andy passed Louis his new phone as they left the room. He almost dropped it because he was feeling so out of it. He followed them slowly down the hallway. He felt like he was walking to his own funeral. Could they fire him over this? Jesy gave him a concerned look as she popped out of one of the offices with an empty tray. 

He followed them into Cowell’s office. The officers explained what they had found and Ann Marie faked concern between shooting him glares.

“Louis,” Cowell said. He swallowed hard. “Has anyone else been in possession of your phone for any length of time? Have you left it anywhere that anyone else could have tampered with it?”

“No, never. I have it with me at all times.”

“You didn’t leave it at a restaurant, look away from it at a club, hand it to someone else for them to take a photo?”

“No, I swear. I don’t let anyone else touch it.”

Nobody looked like they believed him and he was starting to sweat. 

“What is normal protocol in a situation like this?” Ann Marie asked.

“Well, first we should make sure the situation is contained. Then we should see if there is any information we can get from the bug itself. We’d also suggest a sweep of Mr. Tomlinson’s desk and residence to ensure that he hasn’t been compromised further,” Andy explained. 

He wanted to protest, but he didn’t want them to think he was involved. He just didn’t want his personal space to be invaded. It was the only space he had away from Ann Marie.

“Excellent,” Cowell said. “We will send two members of the team to Louis’ flat immediately and the two of you can work on the device.”

“Can I go with them? To my flat, I mean?” Louis asked, hesitantly.

“That’s fine.” 

He nodded and then excused himself. He paused outside the door to where his desk was and called Zayn.

“‘Lo?”

“Zayn, I’m having a crisis!” Louis whisper yelled into the phone. “They just found some kind of listening device in my phone and I’m probably about to get fired and someone has been spying on me and I’m freaking out!”

“What?”

“There was a bug in my phone! I’ll probably be fired!”

“They found a bug in your phone?”

“That’s what I said! The Met Police found it and they are showing Cowell and then they are going to trace it or something to see if they can find who did it.”

The line was silent for a moment and Louis almost asked him if he was still there.

“That sounds really serious, bro. Are you okay?” 

“Not really! They are sending someone to my flat to go through all my stuff and make sure there is nothing there and they are searching my desk. I’m proper flipping the fuck out.”

“You need to calm down, okay? Go with them to your flat and make sure everything is okay. You’ll feel better when they find nothing and all of this is a fluke.”

“I don’t know, Zayn,” Louis paused. “I’m worried. Like, what if they consider me a security risk now and let me go? No one will hire me when I’m strapped with that label.”

“It’ll be fine, Louis. I promise.” 

Louis swallowed hard and nodded as he saw two men in suits looked over at him. “Thanks, Z. I’ve got to go now, they are ready to leave.”

He hung up and, still dazed, followed two of Cowell’s guys out of the building. 

 

\---

Harry received a text from Jesy at five past nine that said we might have a situation over here. 

Two minutes later he got one that was a series of exclamation points. 

Followed thirty seconds later by RED ALERT. PHONE BUG HAS BEEN COMPROMISED. 

He stared at it for a moment before realizing what it meant. “Shit!” He yelled into his empty office before running out of the room and to the lift. He jabbed his finger on the down button repeatedly until it arrived.

He forwarded the texts to Niall as he rode the elevator all the way down to the subbasement while bouncing on his feet. This was not good.

When the doors finally opened he rushed into Zayn’s lab. Zayn was sitting in front of six computer screens, seemingly staring at them all at once. None of his lackeys were in the lab with him. 

“We have a problem!” Harry rushed out.

Zayn was typing furiously on his computer and didn’t even look up at him. He sounded agitated when he finally replied. “I fucking know. This is going to be a disaster.” 

“What happened?”

The doors to the lift opened again and out came Niall and Liam, both of them looking stressed.

Zayn’s glance shifted to them for a second as they rushed in and then turned back to his computer when he went to explain. 

“Mandatory technology upgrade. It happens every autumn.” He closed his eyes and his nostrils flared before he shook his head and opened them again. “I should have known, he loves this day. He hasn't said anything about it, and I completely forgot!”

“It’s not --” Harry started to defend Zayn.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Liam said. “What does this mean for us?”

“They’ve found the bug in his phone. We are lucky we never had the chance to do his iPad or that would have been found as well. They are going to try and trace it, so I’m trying to disable it remotely, but I’m having difficulty. They are clearly blocking the transmissions.”

“How did you know?” Niall asked.

“Louis called me freaking out, terrified he was going to lose his job.” Zayn continued to type as he spoke. 

Harry’s phone buzzed again in his hand and he briefly hoped it was Louis calling to tell him. Only for a moment though. After all, it wasn’t like he was bothered Louis reached out to Zayn first… 

Jesy had an update. He read it quick and then out to the group. “Louis is heading to his flat with some of Cowell’s personal security to check his flat for bugs.”

Zayn nodded as he read this, like he already knew.

“He told me that on the phone as well,” he let out a curse and the muttered under his breath. Harry thought he said “Almost there.” 

“So, they are about to find the bugs Harry placed. Why didn’t you lead with that?” Liam asked. 

“I’ve got something bigger to deal with at the moment,” he snapped at Liam, not bothering to look away from his computer, or slow down in furiously typing.

“We need to go get them, right?” Niall asked, turning to Harry and Liam with a slight panic in his eyes. 

Zayn didn’t respond, too focused on the task at hand. It wasn’t his job to remove them, it was Harry’s. And it wasn’t Harry’s call to make, it was Liam’s. 

Liam sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “Go. But if they are already there when you get there, you need to leave. Don’t let them see you.”

Harry nodded briskly and turned to leave. 

“Wait,” Zayn called out behind him. Harry turned and he saw Zayn facing him. He was puzzled for a second before Zayn tossed his keys at him.

“I already have a key.” 

“Yeah, but he’ll want to know how you got in, now you have an excuse.”

“If you had a key this whole time, why did we go through all that trouble months ago to get a copy?”

“I didn’t. I asked him for one, just in case he ever got locked out. He was really grateful for it. But I was just making sure if we ever broke in again I never had to climb up that stupid fire escape.”

Niall let out a cackling laugh and even Liam huffed a small chuckle. 

“A little exercise won’t kill you,” Harry said jokingly. 

“No, but Liam might kill you if you don’t get going,” Zayn said, turning to give him a small smile. 

Harry nodded again and got into the lift. He was worried he wouldn’t have enough time, that he’d be caught, that all of this would be for nothing. Just as the doors closed he heard Zayn curse and then let out a whoop. He must have been able to deactivate the bug. That, at least, was a bit of good news. 

\---

Harry was freaking out. He had to grab the bugs, and fast. He knew Cowell’s people were on their way with Louis already, and so he didn't have much time. He ran up the stairs of Louis’ building two at a time. The damn cab had taken so long. London traffic honestly. 

Of course, of course, Mrs. Waverly had to be coming out of her flat at the exact moment he reached the door. “You again?” she glared at him.

“Hi, Mrs. Waverly,” he said as cheerily as he could. “Just forgot something in Louis’ flat again.”

She looked at him suspiciously. “You're quite forgetful, aren't you?”

“It's a curse,” he said, taking out his key and opening the door. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Shit. Niall was going to text him when Louis was 100 meters away. “Gotta go. Lovely seeing you.”

He ran into the flat and closed the door before she could say another word. He quickly turned on the device Zayn had given him to stop the bugs from transmitting. They didn't know what kind of equipment Cowell’s people would have to search for any bugs, and well, it would be a bit difficult to explain if they found them in his pocket. Once he knew they weren't transmitting, he ran around and grabbed them, stuffing them into his pocket. 

It was just as the key in the lock was turning that he remembered the one in the bathroom, and ran in to grab it. He had just stuffed it into his pocket and started walking out of the bathroom when Louis walked in, followed by two men in black suits. They looked like such douchebags in this little flat dressed up like they were playing at super serious security. It almost made him want to laugh. 

“Harry?” Louis asked, confused, halfway through the doorframe. “What are you -- how’d you get in?”

“Zayn gave him his spare key,” he held up the keychain he'd grabbed from Zayn when he left headquarters. “He told me you had some trouble at work, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Oh,” Louis sighed in relief. He walked towards him in the living room, squeezing in between the wall and the couch. 

“Is anyone else here?” Douchesuit #1 said. He was already leafing through a stack of mail on the counter. 

“Nope, just me,” Harry said cheerfully, taking Louis’ hand and squeezing it comfortingly. Harry was pretty sure going through the mail wasn’t part of looking for bugs because he’d done it several dozen times. But, who was he to question the man. He offered his free hand to them. “Hi, I'm Harry, the boyfriend.”

They just looked at him. Douchesuit #1 looked at his partner. “Spread out. Search everywhere.”

With a nod, they both started a thorough search of Louis’ flat. They had XB-58 RF Bug detectors they started walking around with. Harry wanted to roll his eyes at that. Amateurs. He wondered if they even knew what the were doing at all. 

“Nice to meet you too,” Harry grumbled. He looked at Louis and sent him a reassuring smile when he saw the worried look on Louis’ face. He groaned internally when he felt his heart clench at it. Damn feelings. “You okay?”

“I guess,” he said quietly. “I just, I'm not really sure at the moment. Ask me later.”

“Promise,” Harry said, and kissed his forehead, ignoring the way he felt so protective of him. “So what are they looking for exactly?”

He felt especially gleeful as he watched Douchesuit #2 feel for any bugs under the cabinets of the kitchen, where exactly four minutes ago there had been a bug that now sat in Harry’s pocket. 

“My phone was bugged,” Louis told him quietly. “They're making sure nothing else was.”

“Your phone?” Harry said innocently, pulling him into his side. “Who would bug your phone?”

“They don't know.”

He tried not to sigh out in relief. Instead, he watched Louis watch the men tear his flat apart with the eyes of a hawk, the worry never leaving Louis’ face. Almost -- almost as if he thought they'd find something. But that didn't make sense. Harry had combed through this flat himself, quite meticulously, several times. And he'd never found anything. 

He felt his pocket buzz and pulled it out slowly and did his best to shield the screen from Louis, just in case. It was from Niall. They’ve called Liam in for a meeting. One hour. Conference room 2. 

Shit. He needed to be back for that. This was big. This could make or break them. He did his best to remain calm and gave Louis’ hand gentle squeezes. It did a lot to get Harry’s heartbeat under control. It only made him a little disgusted with himself, so he knew that situation was getting worse. 

He stood with Louis silently, watching him intently until Douchesuit #1 and #2 finished. “We will escort you back to the office, Mr. Tomlinson,” number 1 said.

“Did you find anything?” Louis asked.

They looked at each other for a second before Douchesuit #1 spoke. “Your flat is clean.”

“Okay, then I'm going to stay back and clean up a bit before I head into the office,” he said. “Thanks.”

“As you wish. Good day.”

They left quickly, probably to report back to Simon, and Louis let out a sigh of relief. “You okay now?”

“I'm much better,” Louis leaned into Harry. 

Harry’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to look at it quickly before Louis’ back. Niall was checking for an update. “Okay, good. I have to go back into work.”

“Okay, I want to clean up a bit anyway,” he nodded. He leaned up and kissed him. “Thanks for coming, Harry.”

Harry ignored the tingling he felt in his stomach. “Like I said, I’m the boyfriend. It's in the job description.”

With another kiss, he left quickly. It was only when he was down the stairs that he breathed out in relief. That was a close one.

\---

“Did I miss it?” Harry said as he ran into the operations room in MI6. Niall had long since cleared the room, feigning a training exercise. He now sat beside Zayn, his feet up on an empty chair. The conference table was covered in various snacks.

“Liam’s getting there now,” Niall said. munching on popcorn. “How was Louis’?”

“They didn't find anything,” he said as he sat down on the other side of Zayn and looked at the monitor. Liam was showing his credentials to the guard at Downing St. “Q’s device worked.”

“Of course it did,” Zayn rolled his eyes, as if there had been any question of it working. “The only thing that can overpower it would be my bug detector.”

“You know what they say about show offs,” Niall said.

Zayn hit him, and turned back to the monitor as Harry snickered. “He’s there. It's show time.”

Harry grabbed a bag of Smarties from the center of the table. They watched as Liam walked into Cowell’s office. “Prime Minister,” Liam said over the screen. He inconspicuously looked around the office, giving them a view of the layout. Simon Cowell was sitting behind his desk, his henchwoman standing behind him with her no nonsense face.

“Payne,” Cowell's said. “Thank you for getting here so quickly, I'm sure you're very busy at MI6.”

“We’re always busy,” Liam shrugged. “Maintaining national security is a constant job.”

“Which we of course thank you for,” Simon smiled.

“What can I do for you?” Liam sat across from him. Harry saw Ann Marie’s lips tighten as Liam sat without permission. It made him roll his eyes.

“It seems we have a security breach,” Cowell's said calmly.

“Yes, you said when I was summoned. Your diary secretary’s phone was bugged?”

“Yes, we found the bug in one of our random sweeps. I'm sure you can imagine how serious this is to national security.”

“Of course. Was anything else bugged?”

“We've checked every phone, and the premises,” Ann Marie said. “So far it was only Tomlinson’s phone. We ran a sweep of his residence, and there were no bugs there.”

“Thank you, Jesy,” Niall grumbled.

“Great, so the matter is resolved,” Liam said cheerfully. “What do you need MI6 for then? This doesn't exactly seem like an issue for us.”

“MI6 serves at the pleasure of the Prime Minister for whatever he needs,” Ann Marie said heatedly.

“Actually,” Liam said calmly, facing Ann Marie. “We report to the Foreign Secretary, which as you know, is really just a formality nowadays so long as we keep out of trouble and produce results, which we have been doing. MI6 runs independently of Downing St.”

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Liam Payne is the boss,” Harry wanted to salute him. 

“Go Liam!” Niall said, a bit too loudly. They were sure Liam would be having words about that when he got back.

“Of course,” Cowell said on the screen. He waved Ann Marie down when she opened her mouth to respond. “I was hoping you'd do this more as a personal favor. I'd hate to think our enemies are gaining intelligence from my office. Mr. Tomlinson is privy to quite a bit of delicate information. MI6 has access to vast amounts of resources that the rest of the government doesn’t.”

“And what exactly would you like us to do?” Liam asked.

“Find the source,” Cowell said. “And exactly what was transmitted from the bug. We need to know what secrets got out, and who got them.”

There was a knock on the door. “Excuse me, Prime Minister, but the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is on the phone for you.”

“Ah, I’ve been expecting this call,” Cowell stood up. “Excuse me, Mr. Payne, I'll just be a moment. Gertrude, please transfer the call to Ann Marie’s office, I'll take the call in there.”

Liam sat back in his chair when they exited the office, and looked around again. “I know you can't respond, M, but that was awesome,” Niall said.

“That was weird, wasn't it?” Harry said. “We've been over everything Louis has. Besides the PM’s schedule, what other delicate information does he have?”

“He’s with the Prime Minister or at least Ann Marie all the time,” Niall shrugged. “I'm sure he hears sensitive information. We don't have the office bugged, so it could be something there.”

Liam stood suddenly. 

“What's going on, M?” Harry asked.

Liam, of course, couldn't answer. So instead, they watched intently as he walked over to the fireplace. “Admiring the craftsmanship, eh?” Niall said. “That's a nice fireplace. Maybe we can get one here.”

Zayn hit him again.

Liam then walked over to the table next to it, and reached out his hand. He was holding something now, something that looked suspiciously like one of Zayn’s bugs. Oh God. Liam was planting a bug in the Prime Minister’s office. This was happening. This was actually happening. They watched silently as he hid it inconspicuously on the underbelly of the table. 

“Oh my God,” Niall said.

Liam was back in his seat a moment later, as if nothing had happened. 

“Did you just --?” Harry had to ask. Because really. Liam, Liam Payne, just broke about every rule in the handbook. He bugged the Prime Minister’s office. It happened. They saw it.

“We’re going to prison,” Zayn grumbled.

“The handbook, Liam,” Harry said, still in shock.

Liam coughed in recognition, but made no other indication that he was even listening to them. Cowell walked back in then, without Ann Marie. “I'm so sorry, it seems this is going to take longer than I thought.”

Liam stood up. He sounded calm and collected, as if he hadn't broken about a hundred rules and bugged the PM’s office. “No problem, I will put my people on it and have a report for you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you,” Cowell smiled. “I really appreciate that.”

“Prime Minister,” Liam said as a goodbye and started walking out. He passed by Louis’ desk.

Harry’s phone buzzed. It was Jesy. “Shit,” he said. “Liam, Louis is there. He's at the entrance.”

Liam coughed again.

“Oh crap, we’re done for,” Niall said.

“No we're not,” Zayn started furiously typing, pulling up a map of the building. “Tell Jesy to cut him off. Liam, take a right up there, quickly.”

Harry nodded, and sent Jesy a quick message. They saw Jesy walk swiftly past Liam, not even sparing him a glance as she went to intercept Louis. 

Liam turned the corner right as Louis walked into view, swept into conversation by Jesy. “That was close,” Zayn said. “About 20 steps ahead of you is the green room. Go in there until Louis passes.”

Harry texted Jesy to pass quickly. They heard Louis’ voice on the intercom, talking to Jesy about Harry, particularly about how tight his trousers always were. Harry rolled his eyes and sent Jesy an angry emoji text. She responded with a wink. They waited with bated breath for him to pass. Only when they couldn't hear his voice anymore did Zayn speak. “You should have a clear path to exit now. Go fast.”

Liam all but ran out of the door. “I'm in the clear,” he said after he passed the guard at the front. He walked quickly to the waiting black MPV.

“Now that the danger, and by danger I mean Louis, has passed,” Harry started. “Can we talk about how you just bugged the PM’s office?”

“Oh God,” Liam said, his tone full of worry. “What did I just do? I didn't even think about it. I just did it. I just broke the law.”

“You're such a badass, M,” Niall grinned.

“Also, we are going to have to talk about the handbook, mister,” Harry said, a matching grin on his own face. 

“Shut up,” Liam grumbled as they started laughing. 

Harry was glad he hadn't missed this.

\---

Harry loved going down to the lair. Q always let him try out new gadgets, and well, the gadgets were always awesome. He wouldn't say the gadgets were the best part of the job, but really, the gadgets were the best part of the job. Unfortunately, today’s visit into Zayn’s lair also had a purpose. 

Now that he'd had to remove the bugs in Louis’ flat, he'd have to replace them. Which meant cool upgrades. Harry got off the lift and waved at Ashton and Luke on the way to Zayn. They paused from testing out what looked like guns hidden in cell phones. Harry knew there was a very big possibility those things would easily pass through airport security too.

Zayn was standing further in the lab with Michael, tinkering with a belt buckle.

“Q, Clifford,” Harry greeted. “I'm here for the new surveillance equipment for -- my mission.” 

“Right,” Zayn said. He handed the buckle over to Michael and moved to the next station. He held up an alarm clock. “I've put in a camera and listening device into this.”

“Lo-- the target has an alarm clock,” Harry said when he noticed Michael was within listening distance. He knew Zayn trusted his lair lackeys; he'd hand picked them himself. So Harry trusted them too, but this was a top secret mission not even they were privy to.

“It's an exact match, so you'll just have to switch them out,” Zayn explained. He held up a computer mouse next. “This will be able to scan and transmit anything on his computer to you. Again, exact match, just switch them out.”

“That'll be useful,” Harry said. He never ceased to be amazed by Zayn’s brain. 

“If there’s even anything to find,” Zayn said bitterly. 

Harry knew Zayn was still having difficulty with this particular mission, even if he had gotten quieter with his complaints. He knew Zayn was starting to accept the possibility that Louis was involved in all of this, even if he hated it, and refused to fully believe it. Harry cringed internally. Now that he'd realized these feelings, he was hoping more and more that Zayn was right and Louis was innocent, not that it really mattered. He knew there wasn't really a future with Louis for him even if Louis was innocent. Jeff was right. Louis wasn't dating him. He was dating Harry’s cover.

“What else have you got?” Harry moved on. 

“Is this all for one person?” Michael asked curiously, looking over from where he was still tinkering with the buckle. “It's a lot of high tech surveillance.”

“It's top secret, sorry, Clifford,” Harry said. 

“I also developed an app for remote access to his tablet. You'll need to install it, but once you do, it'll be virtually undetectable. It's also a GPS. Then there's this.” He held up a screw. “Replace one of the ones in his flat. It's a camera.”

“With audio?”

“Yeah,” Zayn said. He showed him a smoke detector with a small camera next, and then handed him a couple more standard bugs. “I've upgraded these. They won't be detected by their flimsy equipment.”

“Thanks, Q,” Harry said, picking one up and looking it over. He'd be able to have full coverage of Louis’ flat again, which was good. This was all just going to take a while to install. He'd have to coordinate with Jesy to see if she could keep Louis busy and out of his flat for a little while when he broke in and installed everything. He was begrudgingly starting to admit he appreciated having her on his mission.

Zayn sighed, glancing at Michael before looking at Harry. His voice was low when he spoke, meant only for Harry’s ears. “I still don't like this. I still think he's innocent.”

“I know,” Harry said, putting a comforting hand on Zayn’s shoulder. “And I really, truly hope you're right.”

He didn't tell him how much that was true.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Harry woke up on Saturday morning with Louis in his arms and Buttercup pressed against his back. He was warm and cozy, especially since he could hear the wind outside his window blowing hard. His room was still dark and he thought he could hear the faint sound of rain. It was probably the best way he could imagine waking up. All his favorite things in one place. 

He moved a little closer and pressed his nose into Louis’ neck and breathed in deep. He smelled like Harry's coconut shampoo and the natural lotion Harry kept in his bathroom. He wanted to wake up like this forever.

His heart sputtered at the thought. He knew it was true, but it was one hundred percent going to be his downfall. Somewhere between going to sleep last night and waking up this morning, he wanted to wake up like this forever. He expected to feel bad about that, a little twinge in his chest or the worry of ruining his job, but he just didn’t. He wasn’t necessarily okay with it, but he just, he didn't feel bad about it. 

He felt warm. He felt safe. He felt happy. He’d never felt all of this because of another person before. Hell, he'd never even expected to feel like this. It made him squeeze his arms a little tighter around Louis’ middle. Louis gave a small hum in his sleep. The movement caused Buttercup to wake up and his back felt cold as she jumped off the bed.

Harry pressed a kiss onto Louis neck and Louis snuggled back farther in his arms, his bum wiggling a little under the covers right against Harry’s crotch. 

“This is the best way to wake up,” Louis mumbled, his voice muffled by his pillow. 

“Me too,” Harry whispered in his ear. And again, he was startled by how much he truly meant it. He was vibrating with it. He felt like he’d finally stepped off the edge and now he was just floating, not even falling, like he was suspended in air. He pressed his smile into Louis shoulder. 

Louis turned slowly in his arms so he could face Harry. He weaved one of his own arms around Harry’s waist so they were holding each other. He was smiling too, a warm lazy smile that Harry could feel on his own face as well. 

He leaned forward half and inch and rubbed his nose against Louis’ in an eskimo kiss before moving down and kissing him lightly on the lips. He kept his eyes open and watched Louis’ flutter closed. Harry’s chest felt tight. 

Louis kissed the corner of his mouth before opening his eyes and Harry knew it was ridiculous how his heart pounded as Louis’ blue eyes lit up. 

 

Harry’s fingers ran up Louis’ side and then down his arms. 

“Harry,” he whispered. 

Harry hummed in response, brushing aside the hair on Louis’ forehead and giving him a kiss.

“I love you,” Louis said softly. 

Harry felt his heart stop. And when it started beating again he could feel it through his whole body, like he was pulsing. He’d never said that before to someone who wasn’t his family or the boys, and well, they were family, but, to his surprise, he wanted to now, to Louis. The words were out before he could even really think about what it meant.

“I love you too, Louis.”

Louis let out a sigh almost like relief and leaned forward, kissing Harry lightly. “You make me so happy.”

“I've never felt like this before,” Harry said honestly. “But it feels really good.”

Louis smiled at him brightly. He leaned forward and gave Harry a kiss on his lips, pressing in closely. His hands left Harry's arms and wound into Harry's hair. The kiss was unhurried, like they had forever to do just this. The thought made Harry sigh into Louis’ mouth.

Louis tugged gently at Harry’s hair as his lips detached from his and moved down along his jaw, playing open mouthed kisses on his skin. He nipped at his earlobe, licking his skin. “I want to fuck you,” Louis whispered. 

Harry groaned at the thought. It had been a while since he had bottomed, but he was very open to the idea, especially with Louis. “Yeah, yes,” Harry breathed out as Louis trailed kisses along skin until he connected their lips again.

Gently, he pushed Harry onto his back and straddled him, his lips never detaching from Harry’s. Harry found he was kind of loving this Louis, assertive and firm. And yeah okay, so he just loved Louis. 

Louis’ lips finally left his own, moving down slowly with hot open mouthed kisses, and leaving Harry’s skin tingling for more. Harry moaned when Louis wrapped his mouth around one of Harry’s nipples, his tongue flicking the hardened bud. Harry’s hands were gripping Louis’ arm as Louis flicked his other nipple with his thumb. Harry arched his hips up, seeking any kind of friction. 

“Louis,” Harry whimpered. He needed more. He needed all of it. 

Louis looked up at him, smirking. “Don't appreciate the teasing, do you?” He blew softly on his wet skin, making Harry shiver.

“I promise I'll never tease you again,” Harry said. He meant it too, if Louis would just fuck him now. 

Louis rewarded that with rubbing his thigh against Harry’s hardening cock, giving him some of the friction he was so craving. “Why don't I believe that?” Louis snickered. He leaned forward again, kissing Harry’s chest again and moving further down. He stopped just short of Harry’s cock, looking up at him. “I love you,” he told Harry again.

“I love you too,” Harry said, feeling his chest tighten with the truth of it. 

Louis smiled at him before leaning down and licking the head of Harry’s cock. Harry gasped, his hands winding into Louis’ hair. He looked down and saw Louis was watching him as he licked along Harry’s cock, their eyes connecting. Something about it made this even more intimate. It made Harry’s insides feel like mush, their eyes holding on like that. He bit his lip as Louis took his cock into his mouth, felt it when he hit the back of Louis’ throat.

“Fuck,” he moaned, watching Louis bob his head on his cock, feeling the heat of his mouth surround him. It was too good. Harry tugged at Louis’ hair to let him know just how close he was. Normally, he'd be okay with getting off like that, but Louis had said he'd fuck him. And Harry wanted that. He wanted it right now.

With a final kiss to the head of his cock, Louis got off of him, and reached over to the nightstand, grabbing the bottle of lube and extra condom Harry had put there last night. Harry spread his legs as Louis settled between them, lubing up his fingers. Harry’s eyes closed as he felt Louis’ finger circle his hole. Louis kissed the side of Harry’s thigh as he pressed his finger slightly into him, causing Harry to cry out softly. 

“Hmm, that's it, Harry,” Louis ran his free hand along his thigh. “Just relax, babe.”

Harry let out a sigh as Louis fucked into him just right, his fingers just grazing his prostate. Harry’s grip on Louis’ arms tightened as he silently begged for more. Louis seemed to know what Harry wanted though, and pushed another finger into him, scissoring him, getting him ready. 

And then Louis went for his prostate. Harry’s back arched as he felt it, the pleasure radiating throughout his body. He was sure he could come from just this. It wouldn't be enough later, he'd want to come on Louis’ cock, but for right now, it would work for him. 

Louis leaned forward to kiss him, his fingers hitting Harry’s prostate every time. He was getting close now, an it felt so good. Louis suddenly pulled his fingers out, and sat up. Harry looked at him questioningly until he saw Louis grab the condom and lube bottle again. Harry brought his knees up.

“Hey, I love you,” Louis said as he positioned his cock at Harry’s hole. He leaned forward to kiss him, letting the head catch Harry’s stretched rim. 

Harry smiled into the kiss, his hands reaching up to tangle in Louis’ hair as he felt Louis push in slightly. “I love you too.”

Louis grinned as he thrust his cock fully in, staying still for a moment to let Harry adjust. “I don't think I'll get tired of hearing you say that.”

“I'll say it again now if you'll get on with it, Lou,” Harry said in exasperation. He was craving the friction. He needed it. He felt so full of Louis, so full of love. He knew he was probably the corniest person on the planet for thinking it, but God damn it, he felt he was entitled to it when he had never expected to feel it. Now, however, he just wanted to feel more. 

Louis rolled his eyes. “I must not be doing my job right if you can use that much sass right now.”

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Louis pulled back and thrust in again, hard. Harry rocked his hips slightly, trying to get Louis in the right angle, trying to get as much friction as possible. Louis fucked into him with slow, hard thrusts, just barely grazing where Harry needed him now. 

“You feel so good,” Louis groaned, his hands moving down to grip Harry’s arse and pull him up. “I'm going to make you feel so good now, babe.”

When Louis thrust in again, his cock pressed against his prostate finally. Harry arched his back. Fuck. That, that was exactly what he needed. He could do nothing but moan and whimper as Louis continued to fuck him faster now, hitting his prostate every time. “Fuck,” he cried out.

“That's it,” Louis said, in a low tone that made Harry’s stomach flutter. 

Harry could feel the pleasure building, radiating throughout his body. He was so close. He knew he could come from this, untouched and thoroughly fucked. From Louis’ sloppy thrusts it was evident he was close too, but Harry was too lost in his pleasure as his orgasm ripped through him, making his entire body arch as his hard cock sputtered come all over his chest. Louis continued to fuck him through it, prolonging the high. 

“I love you,” Harry whimpered again, feeling the last tremors of his orgasm.

Louis groaned and came right then, stilling within Harry as he rode out his orgasm. “Fuck,” he growled softly. He pulled out slowly and leaned down to kiss Harry again. “I love you too.”

Yes, Harry definitely wanted to wake up like this forever.

\---

It had been incredibly difficult placing the bugs on Walsh and Winston. After all, they were spies too and technically spies putting other spies under surveillance was looked down on according to Niall, so Harry had had to be extra careful. They'd spot the usual things from a mile away. He'd had Zayn covertly hack their computers after Belfast, so that was easy. No way Walsh and Winston would find Zayn’s bug. The stapler had been a tad bit harder. He'd made Niall be lookout while he snuck into the office, which, getting Niall to agree without telling him every detail had been easier than Harry thought it would be. He was pretty sure it was because Niall already knew everything without Harry ever having told him. Niall was like that. He was also pretty sure that Niall knew what had happened between Louis and Harry and that he knew how Harry was feeling but Niall didn't say anything about it and Harry sure as hell wasn’t going to bring it up so he couldn't be sure. 

It had been a few weeks since he'd started he surveillance on Winston and Walsh and unfortunately, he had yet to find anything. Well, anything that pointed to either of them being moles. He'd found out more than he'd ever care to admit about both Walsh and Winston. Walsh had a secret kink for daddy porn, and he was disturbingly unsurprised. Winston had a brother and a sister, Joel and Tanya, and Tanya worried about him living in the city alone. They absolutely loathed Harry, Liam, and Zayn. They actually didn't mind Niall, and well, that didn't really surprise him. It was Niall, after all. But they had said nothing incriminating, nor did their computers have any evidence of traitorous behavior. 

Harry sighed and put his laptop on the coffee table, leaning back into the sofa. Maybe they weren't the moles. Maybe they were really just that big of wankers. But there had to be a mole, didn't there? How else could they explain how they were always just one step behind? The tips on the bombings always came when there was nothing more they could do but look at the casualties and clean up the mess left behind. Could those really just be coincidences? He rubbed his eyes. It just didn't make sense. 

Still, he was almost positive now that while Winston and Walsh wanted Liam gone more than anything else so they could run MI6, they were not in cahoots with the person behind these terrorist attacks. That meant he was back to square one, and well, that meant their primary suspect was still Louis. And he just, he wasn't ready to face that possibility at the moment. 

Harry knew he'd do what he had to do when and if the situation arose, but he loved Louis. He had accepted it and the fate that came along with it. This was the line that Jeff had warned him not to cross. This was the line he knew he shouldn't cross, and yet, he had whispered those three words, and he had meant them. Louis made him happy. He made him feel loved, and that was a feeling, in his line of profession, he'd never expected to feel outside of family. He desperately hoped Louis was innocent, because then, maybe it would be okay. Maybe he'd be able to tell Louis the truth one day, about who he was and what he did. And just maybe, Louis would understand. He'd understand that Harry may have lied about his job, his family and everything else, but he was still the same person, the person that Louis loved. Maybe Louis would still feel the same then.

However, in order to have that perfect future, Louis had to not be a terrorist. And Harry was having a hard time proving that. Yes, he knew he was fucked.

\---

Harry had stayed late at the office reviewing his information on Walsh and Winston, but he also went through the audio files from Cowell’s office with Liam, and went through months of backlogged emails and calendar updates on Louis’ tablet. He’d been able to install Zayn’s software and other surveillance equipment that morning while Louis was still in the shower. He had actually felt a little guilty about it. 

Since this whole assignment had started he had prioritized being available whenever Louis would want him. The only times that wasn’t true were when he had to be out of the country. But tonight, when he knew there was nothing on Louis’ schedule, he still hadn’t left the office. This was too important not to put first. He felt the need to prove it wasn’t Louis now, not the other way around. 

Harry was bent over a file when his phone started to ring next to him. He rolled his eyes when he recognized the song Niall had changed it to this time. The theme song of the Despicable Me movies had filled up his office space. It seemed like maybe Niall was running out of ideas now. 

The screen showed a smiling picture of Louis, his eyes were crinkled and they were so blue. His heart jumped a bit. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, darling,” Louis replied. “Do you want to catch dinner tonight?”

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. “I wish I could. I’m still at work and I’m not sure what time I’ll be able to leave.”

“Oh,” Louis paused for a moment. “Do you want me to bring something there? We could have a really sexy meal over your desk. I’ve never actually seen where you work, even all these years that Zayn has been there.”

Harry let out a laugh. “I’m not sure anything sexy can happen here.”

“Well, I’m willing to give it a go.”

“I appreciate the offer, babe. But I’m going to just try and power through. I’ve got a busy week this week.”

“Ah, alright.” He could hear that Louis was putting on a bit of a disappointed tone, but Harry knew he was mostly teasing. “I’m pretty busy this week as well.”

Harry sat up a bit straighter. He knew their conversation was recording, but he pulled out a pen anyway so he could make notes about anything important in the moment. He flipped the paper in front of him over so he could write on the back. 

“Do you just have a lot of meetings?” Harry asked.

Louis sighed. “Actually, there’s a big Economic Summit this week. We’ve been preparing for it for months, but now that it’s finally here everything is crazy.”

“Oh, I think I saw something about that in the paper. Lots of foreign diplomats, right?”

“A lot,” Louis emphasized. “It’s going to be crazy on the day of. Just trying to coordinate security has been the biggest headache.”

“I’m a little surprised that’s something you’re doing,” Harry said and then realized maybe it was a little rude. “Not that I don’t think you can handle it, just that it seems like something Cowell’s own head of security would organize.”

“My job is basically a catch all for whatever needs to be done,” Louis said. “Don’t worry, you didn’t offend me or anything.” Harry heard him laugh softly over the phone. Harry’s heart did that stupid jump again. 

“So is it an event that you have to attend?” Harry asked.

“I’ve got to be there at six in the morning. Thankfully it's just down the street.”

“Wow, that’s really early.” Harry was writing all of this down, including how he felt Louis was reacting to it all. “So you don’t have to spend the day with the Prime Minister then?”

“He’ll be showing up a bit later with his entourage. I’m sure they want to make an entrance.”

No, Harry thought. That’s not right. He clicked over to his tablet really quick and pulled up his copy of Louis’ calendar. It said very clearly under the 31st that Cowell would be in Bristol all day. Maybe it changed. He switched screens to the mirror of Louis’ phone, but it still said he was going to be in Bristol. 

“Oh, I didn’t know that was something he would go to.” Harry said. He was really confused. Either Cowell’s plans had changed last minute or Louis was lying to him. But why would he do that?

“He definitely has to be there. It’s a lot of politics and foreign policy. It would be a major slight if he didn’t go, especially since it’s being held in London.” 

“Oh,” Harry said, still looking at Louis’ calendar. It just made no sense why that would say one thing and Louis himself would say another. Was he trying to pull one over on Harry? And if so, why? What was the point? 

“Anyway,” Louis said. “I didn’t mean to bore you with work stuff. I’ll let you get back to everything you have to do. Maybe we can catch up sometime tomorrow?” 

“Absolutely,” Harry said. He tried to sound as cheerful as possible, but he was incredibly confused. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Louis said. “Bye.”

 

\---

Louis was the last one to leave the office that night, short of the guard and the permanent residents. He was definitely the last one working. Simon had long since retired to his flat, and even Ann Marie had gone home. But Louis still had work to do. He had to make sure everything was ready for the Economics in the UK Summit. 

Cowell wasn't going to be there, of course. He was scheduled to be in Bristol that night for a meeting. Not that he actually had any meetings in Bristol, especially on Halloween. As PM he was technically supposed to be at the Summit, though he wouldn't have to speak. But he hated those conferences, and so he had decided to send in a stand in this year. Regardless of his attendance, it still meant Louis had a lot of planning and work to do for it. He'd been putting in a lot of hours making sure everything ran smoothly for it.

His phone buzzed. He looked at it and sighed, picking it up. “Frank,” he greeted.

“Tomlinson, my men will be in place,” Frank told him. 

“Good.” That was one less worry on his shoulders. “I trust everything will go smoothly?”

“Doesn't it always?” He hung up.

“Well goodbye to you too,” Louis rolled his eyes as he put his phone down. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, leaning on his elbows on his desk. He couldn’t wait until this Summit was over.

\---

Niall had reserved the big conference room for them on the morning of October 29th. Harry had received a memo the day before in his email that went out to the whole department saying there was training that day. Niall had made it something extremely boring, something they’d all done before and hated, so no one would be jealous they were missing out. Six hours of Outlook training done by some monotone American guy. They didn’t even use their email that much. It was ridiculous. 

No one was suspicious when six of them filed into the room though. Incidentally, half the office was out on “field work” today, and the other half that weren't on active assignments were just glad it wasn't a mandatory training. They had brought snacks because it was going to be a long day, as well as they each had a slim looking file tucked under their arm. It was all for show. Zayn had everything they needed on a couple different external hard drives. But it had seemed like a good show of solidarity. 

Harry sat down next to Jesy and directly in front of Niall. That would work well for when he felt like he was going to get a little stressed about it all. Niall’s stupid face would make him feel better.

The meeting today was a big one. It had Zayn casing the room for all of the departmental listening devices and disabling them. Just for good measure, he had brought 2 different frequency jammers. It also had Liam skimming his hands under and around all the furniture just in case Zayn missed something. 

The Economics in the UK Summit at the convention center was meant to happen in just two days, October 31st. They had a lot of information to go over and a lot of plans to make. Zayn pulled out all of his drives and set some of them up to go on the projector against the far wall and another one plugged into the table. He pressed a few buttons on his tablet and a holographic scale model of the convention center appeared in the center of the table. Liam, Niall, Zayn and Harry had all already been there back in July, but it was different to see it on this scale.

“Where should we start?” Zayn asked. 

“We should make a plan for Thursday. Our first priority is preventing the attack,” Liam said.

Niall pulled a few papers from his folder and handed them out to each of them. “This is the guest list for the event. It is attended by fifteen world leaders as well as the UK’s top economists.”

“So what you're saying,” Jeff started, “is that if we can’t figure out how to stop this bomb that we think is going to be there, fifteen nations are going to be without their heads of states and the world will probably crumble into chaos?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t have said it like that,” Niall said. 

“Looks like you don’t have much to worry about anyway,” Jesy said to Jeff. “Your president has declined. He sent the Secretary of the Treasury in his place.”

Jeff looked down at the list and smirked. “They probably wouldn’t be too bothered if he were to blow up anyway.”

“Maybe we can somehow just blow him up,” Niall said, a bit too chipper about that.

Liam glared at him before gesturing the group’s attention back to the hologram in the middle. “Like I was saying, our first priority is stopping this attack. Zayn, if you could highlight the exits, please?” Zayn tapped a few keys on his tablet and several areas of the hologram changed to red. “We’ll need all of these exits covered. Luckily, we are going to have the Met Police, the City of London Police, the British Transport, the forces of Essex, Sussex, and Bedfordshire, and the Ministry of Defense Police. Which means we will hopefully have the manpower to cover these exits.”

“Wait,” Harry leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. “Are you going to tell them what's going on?”

“Of course not,” Liam rolled his eyes.

“Don't they have a right to know though?” Jesy questioned. “After all, there is most likely a bomb in that building.”

“Maybe several,” Zayn grumbled.

“Yes, exactly, maybe several bombs,” Jesy continued. “I mean, shouldn't they know what we're dealing with here?”

Liam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “The problem is, we don't know how far up, or down, this goes. For all we know, any number of these officers could be in on it?”

“Then why the hell are they going to be covering our backs?” Niall questioned. 

“Because we need the manpower,” Liam explained. “We don't know what exactly we're facing.”

“About that,” Zayn piped up. “If you look at the second page in your folders, I sent you some numbers of probability of what we're facing.”

Harry took out the sheet and looked it over. It was a list of the bombs and methods they'd already encountered, but also, no. He wouldn't. Harry looked up at Zayn with his eyebrows raised, but Zayn was too busy glaring at Niall. That made so much more sense. Below all the bombs and the methods of detonation, someone had added a skull emoji.

“Really, Niall?” Liam glared at him again.

Niall just grinned. This was why Harry had sat across from Niall. Exactly this. “Just covering all our bases, boss.”

“What about special forces?” Zayn ignored that completely.

“What about them?” Liam asked warily.

“Maybe we could tell them?” 

“Tell them what exactly?” Jeff asked.

“Obviously not everything,” Zayn said. “But enough to know they should be on terror alert. It’s their job.”

“Why don’t we just use the bomb squad?” Harry asked. “Ed’s team is pretty well trained and well equipped.”

“It’s still not enough people.” On Zayn’s holographic map little blips started to appear across the space. “Each blip is a person the police forces I listed above are dedicating to the Summit.”

Harry could see them clustered around the exits. 

“The yellow ones in the middle are the expected security details for each foreign leader, as well as our own private detail.”

And Harry could suddenly see the problem. Yes, he could see on Zayn’s graphs that the statistics were against them, but until it was laid out like this he couldn’t see why.

“It’s a 100,000 square meter building, we don’t have the manpower. Even with us and seven police forces,” Harry said a little dazed.

“But the bomb squad…” Niall said.

“They will be stationed outside and in the basement hidden from view. They will be unaware that there is a true threat, just that there is a possibility of one.” Zayn said. He clicked another button and a whole group of new dots appeared. “This is the impact that adding Special Forces will give us.”

“Shit,” Jesy said.

“I can set up a meeting with Director Corden. Hopefully he can be trusted with this information,” Liam said.

“James, sorry, Director Corden is a good guy,” Harry said. “He can be trusted, and I'm sure he’ll be happy to help.” Liam nodded, knowing he was probably right. 

“I can call in a few of my buddies at the CIA,” Jeff offered. “They would be happy to help, I’m sure.”

The others just looked at each other silently. Niall coughed awkwardly. “No thanks,” Liam said. “I don't think any of us want the Americans involved. It would probably start an international incident.”

Jeff leaned back in his chair with a frown, but he didn’t look surprised. 

“Once we’ve added Special Forces we can focus more on the politics of the situation,” Liam explained. “They will be able to handle the threat. Their anti-terrorism unit is the best we have to offer. If they are able to handle that, then we can keep an eye on Louis and try to spot what kind of situation we are dealing with in the conference room.”

“It’s too bad Louis knows all your faces,” Jeff added, rather unhelpfully.

“I can’t believe you think I just sit down in my lab all day twiddling my thumbs,” Zayn said with a roll of his eyes. The ExCeL Center disappeared from the hologram and in its place were the schematics for some kind of… mask?

“What is that?” Jesy asked, leaning forward in her chair. 

“You’ve seen those really lifelike masks that they use in movies and stuff, right?”

They all nodded. 

“Well, it’s kind of like that, except it’s not made of silicone. And you can use the same mask for whichever disguise you would like to create.”

“That sounds made up,” Jeff said. Niall and Harry exchanged gleeful looks at the doubting of Zayn’s epic skills. It was particularly enjoyable when Zayn shut down the naysayers. 

Zayn tossed him a piece of flimsy looking silver fabric. It almost looked like a piece of chainmail when it caught the light. “Go ahead,” Zayn said. “Put it on your face.”

To Harry, it didn’t look like it would even stay on there, but he wasn’t surprised when it did. He had long since learned not to doubt the things Zayn invented. It perfectly molded over Jeff’s face. Zayn tapped on his tablet for a minute before looking up with a smirk.

They all turned to watch as Jeff’s face slowly faded into Liam’s. It was seamless into his forehead and down his neck. Harry and Jesy both leaned forwards at the same time to look, but he couldn't find where the fabric ended.

“Holy shit,” Niall said.

“What does it look like?” Jeff asked. He fumbled with his phone before pulling up the camera app. He let out a small shriek and almost dropped his phone. 

“Why did you have to pick my face?” Liam moaned. 

“Does it still sound made up?” Zayn asked.

Harry could see Liam’s face smirk on Jeff’s body. It was creepy to say the least. “So Zayn, how would you like a position in the CIA? They can make your life very comfortable. Maybe then we can get Horan too.”

The room let out a laugh. Liam, the real Liam, glowered at the fake Liam.

“Thanks, mate, but I’ll pass.”

“Had to try,” Jeff / Liam shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“Can you take that off now?” Liam complained, glaring at Zayn, because really, it was his fault.

Jeff smirked and took off the fabric. “I'm convinced, sorry I ever doubted.”

Harry smirked. Amateurs. “Okay, so that's covered. We’ll be in cognito.”

“Yes, I am hoping so,” Liam said. “Moving on, Jesy, can you tell the group what you found out yesterday?”

“Yeah,” Jesy sat up straighter. “It was a little bit harder to get, mind you. They're being extra paranoid since they found the bug in Louis’ phone but luckily, they didn't check the plant in the desk next to Louis’.”

“You heard something?” Harry felt his chest tighten as he rubbed anxiously at his thighs. Fuck, he did not want this to come back to Louis. He had been hoping Louis’ name would stay out of it for once, maybe provide a sliver of hope that he was innocent. That, unfortunately, did not seem to be the case.

Jesy nodded. “He was talking to that Frank guy about the convention.”

“Frank, you're sure?” Harry tried hard not to wince. That was the sketchy guy who employed the bomber from Jakarta and Buenos Aires. 

“I'm positive,” Jesy said. “He said his name and then something about everything going smoothly.”

Harry looked down at the table. He couldn't help it. Why was Louis talking to that thug about the convention? This couldn't be good. He looked up to see Jeff’s eyes on him.

Liam sighed. “I think at this point we’ll have to assume the worst and be extra mindful. Frank supplies the PM with muscle, so I am going to wager that the call was about security, which means more men to watch out for.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Okay, once inside, Styles, Jeff and Jesy will be monitoring the main floor. We need to make sure nothing happens there. Watch for Frank’s men especially.”

“What about adding some other agents?” Niall asked. “Zayn will be on the computer, running interference wherever needed. I'm not a field agent, and M, you're not either anymore. Can we handle the entire floor and locate any bombs on the premises, and handle any other threats? I know special forces will be a major help, and their whole job is to fight terror attacks, but will just the three of them be enough?”

“We can put some of the other agents outside,” Jesy suggested. 

“We can't tell anyone else what's going on,” Harry said quickly, before Liam could even respond. Liam looked at him with a long look, and Harry knew Liam understood what he was saying. He nodded at Harry to say it. They were sharing everything right now, after all. “There may be a mole.”

“In MI6?” Jesy gasped, her eyes darting to Liam for a moment. “Who?”

“We’re not sure,” Harry admitted. “But there's too many things that don't add up, too many small coincidences that don't seem like coincidences. I've been investigating Winston and Walsh.”

“Surveilling,” Niall corrected. Harry glared at him.

“It's not against the rules!” Harry defended himself. “You told me yourself!”

“Just frowned upon,” Jesy's eyebrows furrowed. “Who else have you been watching?”

“No one,” Harry said quickly. “I swear, Jesy, just the two of them. I needed to make sure. It was just something they said. I don't know, I thought maybe it was them.”

“Did you find anything?” Zayn asked, leaning forward.

“Unfortunately not,” Harry sighed. “They seem clean.”

“Did you find Walsh’s daddy porn?” Niall asked.

“Yeah, it was really-- wait, how did you know about that?” Harry asked. Niall scoffed at the question. Right, of course, it was Niall. 

“Moving aside from-- daddy porn though, really?” Jesy couldn't help but ask. She sat back to think about it. “Huh, weirdly enough, I can see it.”

“Moving on,” Liam cleared his throat. “We don't know who else outside of this room we can trust, because we don't know who the mole could be.”

“I know who it isn't,” Jesy said. “Get Perrie, Jade and Leigh-Anne to stand guard outside in the lobby. We can trust them.”

Liam looked at her for a long time, as if deliberating. Harry knew why. Everyone knew the girls were as close as Harry and the boys were. They’d joined the agency in the same year and went through training together. If Jesy said they were clean, they should trust her, shouldn't they? Liam seemed to think so anyway, because he nodded. “I will brief them later. Actually, this is perfect. I'm going to need one person to come with me.”

“Come with you where?” Harry asked.

“To find the bombs,” Liam said simply.

Harry just gaped at him. He couldn't be serious. He was the head of MI6. He was friggin M, for crying out loud. His days of fieldwork were over. And really, if anything happened to him, MI6 would be left in the hands of the likes of Walsh and Winston. “No,” he protested. “I'll look for the bomb. You should run point from here.”

“I'll run point from wherever I say, Harry,” Liam rolled his eyes. “Besides, a good general leads his army from the front, not the back.”

“Okay, can the CIA just take you too?” Jeff said loudly. “I can definitely get Malik and Horan on board, if you come too.”

This made all five of them roll their eyes. Also, Harry was slightly offended.

“Speaking of the CIA,” Zayn said suddenly. “Did your guys at the lab find anything with the item I sent over?”

“You mean the unstable bomb large enough to wipe out the entire building that you sent over to the Pentagon?” Jeff smirked. Zayn nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, actually, I got a call this morning. I was gonna bring it up.”

“Well?” Zayn said, tapping on his tablet a few more times. The convention center disappeared, and instead, a hologram of the bomb Harry had brought back from Belfast popped up. 

“They were able to disable it completely,” Jeff said. “They said it didn't work because of one of the fuses, by the way. But other than that stroke of idiocy, their words, not mine, it was actually a stroke of genius. They found small particles of depleted uranium, which can--”

“Pierce through heavily armored targets,” Zayn said quietly. 

“Uranium,” Harry looked around, confused. “So it's nuclear?”

“Well, kind of,” Jeff explained. “I don't really understand all of it, but it's fused with other alloys, and it's generally used in high-density penetrating ammunition, not bombs. But it'll make these bombs a lot more devastating. They found traces of it on some of the other remnants too.”

“How'd you miss that?” Niall asked Zayn. He was looking at Zayn oddly, which made Harry look at Zayn oddly.

Zayn, on the other hand, was staring straight ahead, his expression one of terror. Okay, that freaked him out.

“Zayn?” Harry asked quietly.

“I wasn't looking for it,” Zayn said, his voice sounding off. “I didn't think--.” He stood up quickly. “I have to go.”

“Zayn,” Niall called after him as Zayn left quickly.

“What was that about?” Jesy asked.

Liam was staring at the door Zayn just exited, a worried expression on his face. “I have no idea.”

Harry just hoped, whatever it was, it didn't end badly for them.

\---

Louis was pissed that his extra large tea was nearly gone. He needed the caffeine desperately. He had arrived at the ExCeL Center at promptly six in the morning and the set up crew was far from being finished. He didn’t know how it had happened, but he was essentially the event planner. He thought he could probably walk the building blindfolded, he knew the layout of the convention center so well. 

He’d been there for two hours when his to go mug of tea ran dry. It was a sad, sad moment. He wished Jesy was here, she’d have another one ready for him and it would be made almost perfectly. Over the last couple of hours he had forced the set up crew to work three times faster than they had been and was barking orders at anybody he saw slacking. 

Louis was stressed, but he figured it was fine as long as he acknowledged it. It would be better if he had more caffeine. 

He moved through the convention center towards the front entrance. Through the big glass windows he could see some people starting to arrive. The building was so long it took him several minutes to walk the length of it. A cold October breeze smacked him in the face when he pushed the doors out. He saw a child in a pumpkin costume walking farther down the street. He had forgotten it was Halloween. 

Frank Sharp was standing on the steps to the building with a bunch of big guys around him. There were more people spread around outside than he had realized. Off to the left behind a metal barrier there was a group of people protesting. He’d been seeing some chatter online that there might be protests ranging from the economic climate to whatever idiotic thing the US President was doing this time. None of that was Louis’ concern.

He walked up to Frank and gave him a nod.

“How’s everything looking?” Louis asked.

“Mr. Tomlinson,” Frank said. “My men are getting into position.”

“Excellent,” Louis said looking around. “I’ll need some of them outside and some of them stationed outside of the room we will be in. Will that run you too thin?”

“No, I’ve brought the number of men that you requested,” Frank said, pointing to a cluster of big, meaty guys on the steps. “Additionally, there will be those permanently stationed with the Prime Minister himself.”

“Excellent.” The night before, as Louis was getting ready to leave work, he was called into the Cabinet Room and told that there had been a change of plans. The Prime Minister was supposed to be attending an event in Bristol, but they had been able to postpone it to come to the Summit. Apparently, he had been getting some slack in the papers about it. All that had done was make Louis’ job ten times harder, hence why he was at the convention center at six am. 

A few dark vans pulled up and a dozen or so people got out of them. The men and women were all in dark suits and they looked very official, but they didn’t look familiar. He ran through a list of security they were meant to have, but he’d already ticked off all of the agencies. 

He saw Frank was watching them as well. 

“Who are they?” Louis asked.

Frank looked back to him, but he continued to watch the people spread out around the building. “MI6,” Frank replied.

“MI6?” Louis asked. He felt tense. “What are they doing here?”

Frank shrugged. “Maybe your boss called in some extra security.”

The suggestion made Louis bristle. He didn’t like that there was a change he wasn’t notified about, even if he was just Cowell’s secretary. He was essentially put in charge of this event and the man was still springing surprises on him. The presence of MI6 was making him even more on edge.

He seriously needed some more tea. 

 

\---

Harry was ready for this. He had spent all night going over everything, the layout of the place, their plans, everything they knew about the bombs. He knew every nook and cranny of this building and he was going to do everything he could to make sure it stayed standing by the end of this day. 

“Okay, we’re in the stairwell leading to the second floor,” Liam’s voice came through his earpiece. Liam and Leigh-Anne were in charge of finding the bomb and contacting Ed and his team to come disable it. Really, making sure the building stayed standing was going to rely heavily on them, but Harry was confident in Liam’s skills. Plus, Leigh-Anne had gotten some really cool bomb finding tech from Zayn for it. 

“Do you have eyes on The Swallow?” Ashton’s voice said.

Harry hadn't seen Louis yet, and yes, he loved the nickname Niall had picked, but no, he was not going to tell anyone that. “I still can't believe we’re going to call him that,” Harry grumbled. He had entered the auditorium already with Jeff and Jesy. Perrie and Jade were outside in the lobby, and Niall was in a secret room with Ashton and Michael, who Zayn had sent over in case they needed ground support. It had been weird he hadn't come himself, but he said he'd monitor the mission from his lab as he was working on something that couldn't wait. “And no, not yet. Anyone else?”

“At your 2 o’clock,” Jesy said.

Harry looked in the direction she had indicated, and he felt his chest tighten when he saw Louis standing there with a large man with black hair. From their research, he knew that man was Frank Sharp. Louis was looking right at Harry, a troubled look on his face. Had he recognized him? He couldn't have. Zayn’s facial changing tech could not be detected, and he knew he looked nothing like himself. He'd picked a face that looked nothing like his own, and now was sporting blue contacts and red hair. Still, Louis’s eyes were trained on him as he whispered something to Frank. Harry didn't breathe again until Louis finally looked away, though the troubled look remained on his face. What did that mean?

“The second floor is secure,” Leigh-Anne said, breaking Harry from his thoughts.

Harry stayed in his spot as all of the diplomats arrived in armored black SUVs. They were all flanked by multiple security guards and usually two or three others from their delegation. They filed slowly into the auditorium. Nothing seemed out of the norm.

Even the protestors outside seemed to be behaving themselves for the most part. Harry spent the better part of an hour watching Louis across the room. He committed every movement to memory. Every twitch, scratch, blink. In case any of it was a sign. In case any of it mattered.

Through his headset he heard Ashton speak. “The Kraken has arrived. I thought he wasn’t coming?”

Harry stiffened. Niall had again thought he was being funny with the nicknames, but no one argued with the one he chose for Cowell. It was just a joke, really, because Louis’ calendar had said he wasn’t coming. All of the intel they had gathered had said he wouldn't be there. Except Louis himself, who told Harry on the phone that the PM would be there, but that had seemed like a lie. 

Jesy and Jeff remained calm next to him and continued to survey the room. He heard Cowell in the hallway before he saw him. He was joking loudly with someone, it looked like the Director of the World Trade Organization, as he walked through the doorway.

“The Kraken has landed,” Jeff said quietly.

“What the fuck,” someone whispered quietly through the headset. Jesy very nearly snorted. Harry resisted the urge to elbow her in the side.

Across the room he saw Louis straighten as well. His body was like a tight wire, Harry could see it in his shoulders and how stiff he was keeping his neck. His body language was suggesting that Cowell’s arrival set him on edge. That it made him tense. Stressed him out. But he didn’t seem surprised.

“He knew Cowell was going to be here,” Harry said quietly.

“I wonder when the plan changed,” Liam said. “And why.”

“I'm looking at his calendar,” Niall said. “It still says he's scheduled to be in Bristol.”

“This changes nothing,” Liam said. “We still have our mission. Let's get it done.”

Harry knew Liam was right, overall. It didn't really change their directive. They had to find the bomb, disable it and stop the terrorist attack. But if Cowell was here… it didn't make sense. The Prime Minister didn't know they'd be here. Hell, he didn't even know MI6 was investigating this. Why would he risk blowing himself up? Were they wrong this whole time? Maybe it wasn't Cowell.

“Flower, I have lost visual of The Swallow,” Jesy said. Harry rolled his eyes. Again, courtesy of Niall, they all had nicknames as well. He was not particularly happy with Niall’s choice for him. 

“Hot Dog?” Harry called Jeff as he surveyed the room. He couldn't see Louis anywhere either. Frank was missing too. 

“Nothing,” Jeff answered. 

“Did he leave through the front door?” Harry asked, moving to the back to get a better view of the room.

“Nothing out here,” Perrie said. Her nickname was actually funnier than Harry’s, which made him happy. Goat. One of Niall’s favorite pastimes was to get to her make her goat noises whenever he saw her.

“He hasn't come out the side entrance either,” Jade, aka Pickle, said. 

“Keep an eye out,” Liam said. Niall had first named him Dictator, but after a stern talking to and quite a few glares, he'd changed it to Stark.

“He's not on any of the cameras,” Niall, the Clairvoyant, said. He was monitoring the security feeds with Ashton, the Drummer, and Michael, the Hair. Zayn had also been given a name: Babe Juice, even though he wasn't here. Because, of course.

Harry kept looking around the room as the first speaker got up to the podium. He was glad he didn't have to pay attention to the Summit. He'd be bored to tears. Then again, he'd prefer listening to the speakers than a bomb taking them all out. His eyes drifted over to Cowell, who was sitting in the front row, a smile on his face as Ann Marie whispered something to him. It was still bothering him. What was Cowell doing here? And where was Louis?

“Third floor secure,” Liam said. “Debs, let’s move on to the basement.” He used Leigh-Anne’s code name. 

“You have a few guards ahead of you in the staircase, Stark and Debs,” Niall said. “Head left and you'll bypass them to the back stairs.”

“I have eyes on The Swallow,” Perrie said a little while later. “He's coming in the front entrance.”

“Where was he?” Jesy asked. He'd been gone for a while. There weren't many speakers left. No one answered her.

Harry didn't answer, because he didn't like where he knew everyone’s minds were going. He knew they were thinking he was up to something, something not good, and Harry didn't want to admit that he was worried about that too.

“Are there no cameras out there?” Harry asked.

“He stayed off them,” Michael said. “There’s been no activity outside.”

Louis entered the auditorium and stood against the back wall not far from Harry. 

“That’s not possible,” Jeff said.

“Well, somehow he did it,” Ashton said. “That doesn’t matter anymore. Anyone have visuals on Sharp?” 

A chorus of “negative” filled Harry’s ears. He was getting a little nervous. That almost never happened, but things had not been going to plan.

“Any update, Stark? Debs?” Harry said.

It was quiet for a beat too long.

“Stark? Debs?” Jesy asked next to him. 

Finally Liam answered. “We have a visual on the bomb.”

“Basement, first sector,” Leigh Anne said.

“Should we evacuate the building, sir?” Jeff asked quietly.

“Negative,” Liam said. “We’ve radioed the bomb squad. Ed’s team is on their way in. They’ve left Special Forces on the roof with sniper rifles. If anyone tries to leave this time we’ve got eyes.” 

“Is that the best plan of action?” Perrie asked. “What if it goes off? We have the leaders of half the world’s economy in this building.”

“The timer has nearly ten minutes left on it,” Leigh-Anne said. “They set it extremely early.”

Harry eyed the room again. The second to last speaker was just finishing up. Louis straightened up when he left the stage. There was meant to be a short break between speakers.

“Who is last to speak?” Harry asked.

“Hold on,” Niall said. He could hear the faint sounds of him typing. “Oh. It looks like it’s meant to be Cowell. That wasn’t there yesterday. It was someone else.”

“The building is going to blow during the Prime Minister’s speech?” Jade said quietly. That was definitely not something they needed anyone else to hear. 

“Not if we can stop it,” Liam said. Harry fought the urge to roll his eyes. Such a heroic statement as always from their fearless leader. Liam was always the optimist.

“Bomb squad has arrived,” Leigh Anne said. 

Harry looked across the room and saw Jesy biting her lip slightly. He was glad to know he wasn’t the only one a little nervous. 

“M,” Harry said, forgetting about their nicknames in the seriousness of it all. “This might be our last chance to get everyone out. Are you sure you don't want us to evacuate?”

“Stark,” Niall corrected. 

“Ed’s looking over the bomb now,” Liam responded.

“Okay,” Ed’s voice filtered through. “It seems pretty similar to the bomb from Belfast.”

Liam had ordered Ed to learn the schematics of the bomb that hadn't blown up before they got here. He hadn't told him why, of course. As far as the bomb squad was concerned, this was a complete surprise to all of them. However, Liam was not going to take any chances.

“Can you disable it?” Liam asked.

“Yes, yes I think so,” Ed said. “I hope so.”

“So are we evacuating or not?” Jeff asked.

“With this many people, and the protestors outside, it's going to be chaos. We’ll need time,” Niall said.

Liam didn't answer at first, so Harry called his name. After another paused, Liam said, “No. Maintain positions. Keep an eye on The Swallow.”

Harry looked over at Louis, who was still standing pretty close to him in the back. He seemed tense as the Prime Minister spoke at the podium, too tense. Did he -- no, it couldn't be. Harry didn't want to believe it, no matter what it looked like. He was sure there was a reasonable explanation for this. There had to be.

“Ed,” Liam said, his breath hitched. 

“Shit,” Ed said. “Hang on, hang on.”

“The timer is going faster,” Leigh-Anne said. 

Fuck. What was going on? Harry should have volunteered to go bomb hunting. He hated that he was so far from what was happening. He needed to be there, to protect his team and do his job.

“What's going on, Stark?” Niall asked.

“Hang on,” Ed said again. Another pause. And then, “Done.”

He could hear the sigh of relief Liam had let out. Harry didn't blame him. That was close. Looking around the room, he was glad this body of world leaders didn't know how close they had come to being blown up. He snuck a look over at Louis, who kept sneaking glances at his phone. It got even weirder as Louis turned and walked out of the auditorium. Where was he going? He debated whether he should follow him, but he knew the overall mission was more important. He had to make sure nothing else happened in here. “Goat, The Swallow is headed your way.”

“He's leaving during the Prime Minister’s speech?” Michael spoke. 

“Thank you all for being here,” Cowell ended his remarks. The auditorium clapped, still completely oblivious to their near death experience. 

“So, I guess it's over then?” Niall said when none of them spoke.

“I hope so, Clairvoyant,” Liam said. “Bomb squad is getting ready to transport the bomb back to HQ now. Debrief in the temporary command room in 30.”

That gave them enough time to cover as most of the attendees piled out. A few lagged behind to chat, but as always with these Summits, Harry knew the most important work would be done behind doors at private parties. He noticed Cowell was one of the last to leave, which was still strange. Wouldn't he have wanted to hightail it out of here if he knew there was a bomb? Maybe they were wrong. 

“The Swallow,” Jesy said.

Harry saw him immediately. He had come back into the auditorium as people were piling out and made a beeline for the Prime Minister. It did make sense. After all, Louis did work for the man. What made less sense was that Louis looked confused. He watched closely as Louis had a quick conversation with Ann Marie before exchanging a few words with Cowell. Harry wished he could hear the conversation. Cowell grinned at Louis and clapped him on the back before his security ushered him out. Louis stood there for another moment, looking at the podium, a dazed look on his face before he turned, looked in Jesy’s direction and then walked out of the auditorium.

“You did see that, right?” Jeff asked.

“Yeah,” he said, no matter how much he hated to admit it. Was he wrong about Louis? God, he really hoped it wasn't.

Soon, the auditorium had been cleared and they made their way to the room Niall, Ashton and Michael had converted into a temporary base of operations. The three guys were inside with Liam, Leigh Anne, Jade and Perrie. Computers had been set up on a table that was piled with snacks. Niall.

Harry walked over and sat on a chair next to Jade. “Well, we did it.”

“Thankfully,” Liam said. “It was a bit touch and go there at the end, but Ed came through. Remind me to give him a raise.” That last bit was addressed to Niall.

“Sure, right after you give me a raise,” Niall said, his voice chipper.

“For what exactly?” Harry teased as he grabbed a cookie from the table. “Eating snacks while the rest of us toiled away?”

“For keeping your arses entertained obviously, Flower,” Niall grinned.

“Did you find whoever placed the bomb?” Jesy asked.

“Not yet,” Liam said. He looked at Harry. “You’ll have to stay on this.”

He didn't elaborate too much because while everyone in the room was trusted, they didn't know the full details of the unsanctioned, slightly illegal operation they were running. 

“I know,” Harry said quietly. Niall looked at him weirdly when he said that, almost like he knew. He knew Harry was in love with Louis, and this was killing him. Fucking Niall. 

Liam nodded. “Perrie was saying Louis left during Cowell’s speech and walked outside. She couldn't see him when he got there, but one of the Special Forces guys saw him from the roof. He was on the phone.”

He would have to check the bug on Louis’ phone later, though he couldn't exactly say that here. But he knew Liam told him that for that specific reason.

“He was acting weird, wasn't he?” Jesy said. 

Harry had to deliberately not wince. He didn't want to talk about this anymore, even if he knew it could be important. He just, he wanted an innocent explanation. He knew he wouldn't get one, that he couldn't. It wasn't like he could tell Louis he had seen him at the Summit and ask him why he was acting so weird.

“Where'd he go when he disappeared near the beginning?” Leigh-Anne asked. “You said he avoided the cameras and none of you saw him leave, right?”

“Actually, I think I have an answer to that,” Ashton said, turning to his computer. He pressed a few keys and pulled up a security video. “Watch closely.”

They huddled around to watch the video, but there was nothing weird about it. Louis wasn't even in the shot, and everyone else looked completely normal.

“I don't get it,” Jeff said. It looked like no one else got it either.

“It's been tampered with,” Ashton said. He pointed to something on the screen. “See that there? This isn't the actual footage. Someone’s hacked it.”

What? That didn't make sense, unless Louis had deliberately tried to hide his activities. Maybe he had recognized them. 

“Can you get the original feed?” Liam asked.

“I tried,” Niall said. “Unfortunately, it's a little more advanced than our skills.”

“We’ll need to get it back to Q,” Michael said. “He’ll be able to do it.”

“Don't you live with Zayn?” Harry asked, his voice lighter than it had been all day. 

“Yeah, and?” Niall rolled his eyes. “You live with Buttercup. I don't see you licking your arse.”

Touché.

“Zayn is on standby,” Liam said, pulling out his phone. They waited while Liam called Zayn, but he didn't answer. “That's odd.”

“He's probably wrapped up in a project,” Michael said.

“Probably,” Liam said, smiling slightly. They all knew what Zayn was like when he was working in the lab. Not answering the phone wasn't that odd for Zayn. “Okay, let's get this back to HQ then. Harry, you're dismissed for -- your thing.”

Harry nodded and clapped Niall on the back, a grin on his face. “Chin up, lads and ladies. We stopped the bad guys today.”

“Now we just have to catch the bastards,” Liam said. They all agreed and started packing up. Harry left quickly, knowing he had to get home to get his costume. It was Halloween after all, and Louis wanted to celebrate. It sucked that Louis was still a mission and a possible threat, but that was no different than yesterday. 

He waited until he was outside to pull out his phone. He noticed he had a voicemail from Zayn.

“H, I think I was wrong. Call me back when you get a chance.”

Well, that wasn’t cryptic or anything. He redialed Zayn’s number, but after a few rings it eventually went to voicemail. That was strange.

\---

Harry was exhausted from the day they’d had. It was such a close call, but he was so relieved it was over. Or, at least, hopefully, the bombings were over. The problem with finding just the bomb was that they still didn’t know who planted it. 

They hadn't been able to reach Zayn, but Ashton and Michael promised to take the footage straight to the lab so Zayn could work his magic. Liam told Harry he'd text him when he had an update, but so far, it had been radio silence. He'd tried calling Zayn a few times since he'd left him that cryptic voicemail, but Zayn hadn't picked up. Harry was sure he was just busy with the new bomb. Zayn had a tendency of getting very wrapped up in his work, which was a great thing for his job, but not a great thing for calling him. 

It all had them on edge, but at least fifteen of the world’s leaders didn’t get blown to smithereens under Harry’s watch. That would have been catastrophic. And none of the people in attendance were the wiser, which was how they preferred it. MI6 worked best in the shadows.

But still, Harry had hoped this would all be over with. He had plans with Louis for Halloween. He had reasoned with himself that a man who was planning on murdering dozens of people wouldn’t make plans to go out for a night with his boyfriend later that day, right? But if Louis was that person, then he was probably also a sociopath or a psychopath, or whatever, and couldn’t give a fuck. 

Which was scary enough in and of itself. 

But since Louis wasn’t arrested, Harry was walking the few streets to his flat. It was a cold night and he had to blow on his hands to get them to warm up. Harry hadn’t been very creative with his costume, his heart wasn’t really into it, so he had just thrown on some blue trousers and a leather vest and was going to claim he was Han Solo. 

The street Louis’ flat was on was mostly deserted. He had expected to see more people out and about, even though it was a Thursday. There were hardly even any cars on the block, just a little Vauxhall Corsa and a white maintenance van down the end of the street. 

He was about to press the buzzer when his phone started to ring in his pocket. This tone he approved of, Charlie’s Angels was a classic. 

“Styles,” Harry answered.

“It’s Niall. Where are you?” 

“About to take Louis out,” Harry said. He turned around and leaned against the building. The bricks were cold on the back of his head. 

“Oh, I was hoping you were with Zayn,” Niall said sounding disappointed.

“No, I haven't seen him since this morning. Is there something wrong?”

“He’s not answering his phone,” Niall said. Harry thought he actually sounded a little worried. 

“Sometimes he gets absorbed in his work, you know that.”

“Yeah…” Niall trailed off. “We had plans tonight though, he never bails without calling.”

“Did you see him when you went back to HQ?” Harry asked.

“No, Ashton and Michael took the security footage down there,” Niall explained. “I had some other things to do and I didn't want to distract him. I figured I'd see him when he got home.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Niall. Have you tried Liam? Maybe they are together.”

“Yeah, maybe. I’ll call him next.” He said goodbye and hung up. It wasn’t like Niall to get so worried over Zayn.

He turned around and pressed the buzzer for Louis’ flat. He responded almost immediately by unlocking the door. Harry pulled it open and stepped into the entry hallway. 

It was probably nothing. They all knew how Zayn was about work. Then again, it was one thing for Zayn to not answer his call when he was working and knew that Harry wasn't out on a job, but it was a completely different story for him not to answer Niall’s call. Especially after that voicemail he'd left Harry. He quickly dialed up Zayn, trying to call him again.

This time it went straight to voicemail. Well, shit. Now he was worried.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Harry was definitely worried when he walked into HQ that morning. He hadn’t heard back from Zayn, nor had Zayn picked up any of Harry’s numerous calls throughout the night. He hadn’t heard back from Niall either, and Harry had really hoped Niall would call him back to let him know Zayn was okay. Which, okay, maybe they were busy. It was just that that wasn’t really like either of them. Niall would usually have at least texted him after that frantic call. 

That was why Harry made a beeline straight for Niall’s desk when he got through security. He wanted to check in with him first before he headed down to Zayn’s lair. But when he busted through the doorway, Niall was not there. That was odd. Niall was always there manning Liam’s desk. He poked his head into Liam’s office, but it was empty too. Maybe they had already gone down to the lair. He quickly dropped his stuff off at his own office before heading to the elevator.

He knew he was right when he saw Niall and Liam down there, talking to Ashton. He nodded at Calum as he passed by on his way over to them. Niall looked like he hadn't slept.

“Hey guys, where’s Q?” he asked as he stopped next to Liam.

“That's what we are trying to figure out,” Niall snapped. Okay, Niall never snapped. This was getting even more worrisome.

“I really wish I could help you,” Ashton said. “He wasn't here when we got back, so we figured he was just running an errand or something, dropped the tape off with a note and I left. I figured he'd check it out when he got back.”

“Zayn didn't come home last night,” Liam explained the situation to Harry. 

Fuck. “So where could he be?”

“Something happened, I know it,” Niall said. “And no one is listening to me!”

“Niall, calm down, we’ll find him,” Liam put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Michael came out of the office. “Hey guys, what's up?”

“We’re looking for Q,” Liam said. “Did you see him?” 

“Oh yeah, I saw him last night,” Michael said.

“Where?” Niall demanded, stepping forward.

“Here,” Michael shrugged. “He said he needed some time to think and took off.”

“No, that doesn't make sense,” Niall snapped. “He wouldn't just take off. He wouldn't. We had plans.”

Yeah, that didn't sound like Zayn. Especially after that cryptic voicemail he'd left Harry. Speaking of, “He left me a message yesterday.”

“What? Why didn't you say anything?” Niall rounded on him. “What did it say?”

“Sorry, I wasn't sure what to make of it. He said he was wrong about something, but he didn't say what, and then he told me to call him back, but he didn't pick up,” Harry explained, taking a wary step back. Niall looked ready to pounce. “I'm sorry. I would have told you immediately if I had known he'd just disappear.”

“That's pretty fucking important, Harry,” Niall glared at him. It was infinitely worse when Niall glared at him than when Liam did, Harry realized.

“I can see that now,” he said apologetically. “I'm sorry.”

Liam, ever the calm and resolute leader, came to his rescue. “You couldn't have known. When did he leave that?”

“When we were at the convention center,” Harry said. “I heard it when I was leaving.”

“Maybe he just needed some time away,” Michael suggested.

“He would never just fucking take off to get time away,” Niall snapped. “You don't know what you're talking about.”

“Okay,” Liam said, seeing the situation getting much worse. “Thanks for your help, guys. Let us know if you hear anything. Harry, Niall, let's go.”

“We need to search through his things,” Niall didn't move. “There might be a clue.”

“Niall, Michael said he left,” Liam said calmly. “And we've already checked his office. We didn't find anything.”

That was news to Harry, but it also made him think of something else. “Did Zayn have time to look at the video?”

“We didn't see anything,” Liam said. “So, without Zayn, we can't know. Niall, come on.”

He all but dragged Niall, who looked like he was ready to tear the lair apart, to the lift. He didn't let go of Niall’s arm until the doors closed. Niall let out a deep shaky breath and closed his eyes. “He didn't just leave. I'm telling you, he wouldn't do that. He wouldn't do that to me.”

“I know,” Liam said. “But we weren't going to find anything down there. We’ll find him, Niall, I promise.”

Harry could see that Niall was going to hold Liam to that. 

\---

They went straight to Liam’s office and locked the door behind them. Niall took to pacing across the old hardwood floors and Liam sat behind his desk with his hands clasped together on the table, looking incredibly burdened. Harry draped himself over a chair and stared at the ceiling. He felt like he couldn’t think.

He’d been out late with Louis at a bar around the corner the night before. Louis had answered the door dressed as Peter Pan and Harry’s mind had gone blank at the sight of his tights. He’d kissed him messily just inside his doorway, all teeth and tongue. It was probably a culmination of the high stress of the day before and how impossible he found resisting Louis to be. 

When they’d finally managed to leave out the front door he had tried to give Zayn a ring again, but Zayn hadn’t answered. Harry had stepped out for a bit of fresh air while Louis had gotten another round and it still had gone to voicemail. 

Shamefully, Harry hadn’t tried again. He got sloppier the drunker he got and Louis looked so good. In hindsight, he felt really bad that while Niall was up fretting all night and Liam was no doubt pacing in his office at home, he was fucking Louis against the door to Louis’ flat. And they’d know it if they listened to the recordings, which somehow made him feel even more ashamed.

But there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. They needed to think because they needed a solution. Zayn was missing, but it was either he left on his own accord as Michael had implied, or something bad happened to him like Niall believed. And really, if Zayn went somewhere by choice, Harry seemed an odd choice to be his last call. He was under no pretence that Zayn would choose to speak to him over Niall or Liam. But as it were, he was. 

Which was confusing in and of itself.

“Where would he have gone,” Harry asked. “If indeed he went on his own?”

“He didn’t,” Niall snapped.

“But if he did,” Harry said. “Where would he go?”

Niall ran a hand over his face and sighed loudly. “To see his parents maybe? If he wasn’t with me and he wasn’t with Louis, I can’t imagine he would go anywhere to just be alone. Yeah, he broods and he likes to be in the quiet, but he doesn’t like to escape, if that makes sense. He wants to be among his things, so when he needs space or time to think you would find him down in that subbasement and nowhere else.”

“And since he’s not down there…” Harry trailed off.

“I think Niall might be right,” Liam said. “But there’s nothing we can do about that right now. Just yesterday we stopped a major terrorist attack in our city and we are no closer to taking someone into custody for it. This needs to be priority.”

Niall made an aggravated noise and looked like he wanted to punch something.

“You know how important Q is to me,” Liam continued, “but if something happened to him then it was in relation to this case, so we have to assume that he found something out. We need to figure out what it was.”

“The three of us together couldn’t even come up with a third of his brain power,” Niall said. “No offense, but let's be real.”

“The three of us together couldn't even come up with a third of his brain power”, Harry repeated, agreeing wholeheartedly. “But we have to do what we can.”

Liam nodded and Niall sighed before sitting down in the chair next to Harry. 

“Yesterday,” Liam started, looking down at the papers in front of him. “We found a bomb in the basement of a convention center in East London. There were fifteen foreign leaders, plus our own sitting in an auditorium on the ground floor. So how does this fit within the series of attacks? We are dealing with a series of terrorist attacks around the world that escalated and culminated yesterday at the ExCeL Center.”

Niall was nodding along as he spoke, but Harry wasn’t. He was thinking through everything Liam said. And all he could think was that it didn’t. It seemed to easy. 

“I don’t think this makes sense,” Harry said.

“What do you mean?” Niall asked.

“We clearly saw an escalation from the first attack in Jakarta to the last one in Belfast. Not only in the breadth of the attacks, but in the loss of life. Jakarta was one bomb in the city center and Belfast was fifteen bombs. Plus if you look at Sydney, there were also assassinations.” Harry paused. “Doesn’t this seem like a regression?” 

“Maybe there was more and they didn’t go through with it because we were able to stop this one,” Niall suggested.

“Okay, but,” Harry said sitting up in his chair. “Why were they going to blow themselves up?”

Liam was looking at him, but didn’t say anything. Niall looked a little stumped.

“Doesn’t that just not make sense?” Harry asked them.

“If it wasn’t one of them, then was it just a coincidence?” Niall asked. “And if it wasn’t, what the hell happened to Zayn?”

“I wish he was here,” Liam said.

“Me fucking too,” Niall grumbled.

“We can speculate all we want, but he already knows the answer,” Liam said. “That makes all of this more difficult.”

“Maybe we need to go over it again,” Harry suggested. That would be usually so out of character for him, but this was a special situation. This was for Zayn. And maybe a little bit it was also for Harry. If someone else was behind it or if it wasn’t related at all, then it had nothing to do with Louis. 

 

\--

The three of them had stayed in Liam’s office through lunch. They had ordered in Thai food from down the street and had stared at everything they had amassed over the last several months until their eyes hurt. And even then Niall wasn’t willing to stop. He was getting snappier as the day went on, but Harry couldn’t blame him for that. 

Liam suggested after lunch that they head down to the lab. Neither Harry or Niall could come up with a reason not to, so the three of them rode silently down to the subbasement. When the lift doors opened Harry could see Michael and Ashton in the back of the lab working on something underneath a giant microscope. Calum was leaning over a large worktable and Luke was sitting in front of a few computer screens. 

Harry was struck by an idea. “Maybe we can retrace his steps?” He said quietly to Liam and Niall.

Liam nodded and headed out of the lift towards Luke. Liam leaned down and said something quietly to Luke, who nodded sharply and began typing quickly.

Harry knew Liam was trying to bring the least amount of attention possible to the Zayn situation, but there wasn’t a way for them to do a lot of this on their own. But if there was a way to keep other people's involvement to the minimum, that was what they would have to do. Besides, Zayn had had the luxury of picking his lair lackeys himself. If they could trust anyone, it was them. 

Harry and Niall pulled up three chairs so that they could all sit in a semi circle around Luke.

“So, when was the last time you knew his whereabouts for certain?” Luke asked. 

“I saw him before we left for the mission yesterday morning in the lab. So like nine am?” Niall said. “Everything seemed normal.”

“Okay,” Luke said. He continued to type. “I just need a starting point.”

Luke pulled up the video feed from the lab for yesterday morning. Harry saw Zayn and Niall on the feed from one camera and on the other he could see Ashton and Luke packing things into a backpack. Niall and Zayn seemed to be talking. Ashton and Luke walked towards the lift and seemed to say something to Zayn. 

“We were asking Niall if we should wait for him,” Luke said quietly. 

Harry watched as Zayn waved them off and the doors to the lift closed. On screen Niall and Zayn continued to talk, but the Niall next to him did not feel the need to fill them in on their conversation. 

After a few moments, Niall and Zayn were kissing. Harry felt like he should look away, but he didn’t.

“Niall, honestly,” Liam said. 

“Whatever,” Niall said. “We look good together, so stop your grumbling. Besides, that's the tamest we've been in the office.”

“Tamest?” Harry asked, intrigued. Because it did not look that fucking tame to him.

“Do not elaborate,” Liam ordered. “As soon as this situation is finished, I am scheduling an appropriate workplace etiquette seminar.”

Great.

They broke apart eventually and Niall left the lab. They all watched as Zayn sat down in front of the computers they were now at and got to work. 

“I’m going to speed it up a bit,” Luke said. The video moved in fast forward after that. They paused it momentarily each time Zayn moved, but the first time he was getting an energy drink from the mini fridge and the second time he was going to the bathroom. So far they had nothing. 

He seemed to be watching something and working on something else at the same time. One of them was keeping track of what was happening at the convention center, they were able to see that from the security footage, but he also was looking at something else. It looked to Harry a little bit like schematics.

“Can we see what he was working on?” Harry asked.

“I can try,” Luke said. He started working on a separate screen while the footage of Zayn continued to play on the first. Several minutes passed before Luke spoke again. 

“I think this was it?” Luke said a little unsure. “He was moving through documents really fast. But they all seemed to be bomb reconstructions.”

Harry exchanged a look with Liam. So this was definitely about the case.

Luke had continued typing away even though he had already brought up the bomb documents, but he stopped suddenly and let out a low whistle. “From looking at his key strokes, he pulled this up too. But it’s encrypted. I don’t think I can get it open.”

“What do you mean you can’t get it open?” Niall said.

“It requires some kind of key to get it open, I can work on it but it will take some time,” Luke looked up at them helplessly. 

“Work on it and inform me when you’ve cracked it,” Liam said. “Let's continue watching Zayn.” Liam shifted Luke’s focus back to the first screen. Luke nodded as he pushed a few buttons and the documents moved out of focus. They watched as Zayn left the office, and came back shortly, his face terrified. What had happened? 

“Do we know where he went?” Niall demanded, leaning forward. 

Luke started working on the second screen again, and watched Zayn go up to the lobby and then walk around the corner until he had stepped into a secluded alley, he made a call. Harry pulled out his phone and looked at the time stamp of when Zayn had left the voicemail. It matched the time that was listed on the security feed. He held up his phone to Niall and Liam, who both nodded to say they understood. That was when Zayn had called Harry. 

Luke used different security camera feeds to follow Zayn as he stayed in the alley for close to 10 minutes, looking panicked, before he headed back to the lab. On the lab security feed, they saw Ashton and Michael had returned from the convention center, with Ashton soon leaving. Zayn reentered the lab shortly after this, and they watched as Zayn talked to Michael. Zayn looked tense. His body language looked strange to Harry. That was odd. 

“Okay, he’s leaving,” Liam said. Up to that point, they had at least known roughly where Zayn had been. Now, this was the mystery. Where did he go next? “Follow him.”

“On it,” Luke was already typing away, getting the new feeds up. They watched Zayn as he hurried out of the building, making his way to the tube station. If Harry didn't know better, and well, at this point, none of them knew better, it almost looked like Zayn was running. He hurried down the escalator and the feed switched to a different camera and he hopped on the Jubilee Line.

“He always takes the district line to our flat,” Niall said quietly.

“Where was he going?” Liam muttered.

They watched as he got off at Baker Street only a few minutes later.

“Seriously, where is he going?” Harry asked.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Niall said.

Harry expected him to switch to a different line, but instead they followed him on camera out to the street. Zayn walked quickly down Baker St towards Marylebone Rd. Luke was moving from camera to camera quickly as Zayn walked between the frames until he switched to the next frame and Zayn wasn’t on it.

“Where’d he go?” Niall asked.

“Did you mess with the time?” Liam asked.

Luke looked a little confused and typed quickly. He was squinting at the screen. “No, it goes from 15:05 here” he said pointing to the screen and the switched to the next,” to 15:06.”

“But where did he go?” Harry asked. “There’s nothing there.”

“Let me rewind,” Luke said.

He rewound the original camera and just as Zayn moved off camera two things happened at once. He stepped behind a white van, stopping for a cigarette. Luke rewound the second camera and they could see the white van pull up and one of the back doors open and close quickly before it drove off.

Zayn never walked into the second frame. It happened so fast they didn’t notice it at first.

“Holy shit,” Harry whispered. Luke played it again, slower this time. The van pulled up, Zayn stepped behind it while looking down and pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pockets. And then poof. 

“What the fuck,” Niall growled. “Was he just taken?”

Luke did it again and again. After the fourth time Liam told him he could stop. Each time it became clearer that Zayn probably disappeared into that van, though Liam did place a call to have someone go check out the alley. Harry was pretty sure it was Jesy from what Liam was saying on the phone. 

“We need to come up with a plan,” Liam said, putting his phone back down.

“Can we follow the van?” Harry asked. Luke nodded shortly and tried to keep up with it on the cameras, but it was going quickly from frame to frame until it eventually took a few turns in quick succession and Luke couldn’t find it on any of the cameras.

Niall growled. Harry had never seen him so angry.

“The only thing I can offer to do is run the plates?” Luke said feebly. 

“Thanks, Luke,” Liam said, patting him on the shoulder as he stood up. “Send me the information when you have it.”

Luke nodded. Harry stood as well and Niall continued to stare at the screen before he finally sighed heavily and got up.

“I have a phone conference,” Liam said quietly, giving Niall a look. “We can reconvene later, okay?”

“That’s fine,” Harry said. “I will see what I can come up with?”

“Excellent.” 

The three of them moved towards the lift. Niall and Liam were chatting quietly about their meeting, but Harry wasn’t really listening. Just before the doors closed he looked over his shoulder and saw Michael and Ashton watching them leave.

\---

Harry was frustrated. He'd locked himself away in his office hours ago, trying to find the van they'd seen take Zayn. The problem was, it was nowhere. He was hitting dead end after dead end, and sure, he didn't have Zayn’s hacking skills, but he had had to find vehicles once or twice before. He knew exactly how to do it, and had success each time. However, this van, the van that had taken Zayn, had seemed to vanish. Luke had tried to trace the plates, but it had lead them nowhere, much like every other lead. It didn't help that they'd been here all day, trying to find some lead, any lead, and each dead end was hitting them hard. Liam had finally excused himself to make some calls about the bomb. Apparently, he had to let the PM know after the fact, without mentioning, of course, that our prime suspect had been Cowell himself. Harry and Niall, however, had not let up on the search. He was pretty sure that Niall would find a painful way to kill him if he even thought about stopping, which, he wouldn't anyway, even without Niall’s implied threats.

Harry sighed and pushed his keyboard away when his latest lead turned up short. He rubbed the exhaustion away from his eyes and rested his forehead on his arms. He needed to find something about this damn van. Niall was counting on him. Zayn was counting on him. God, Zayn could have found it in his sleep. It was hitting him harder every minute just how much they needed Zayn. 

He sat up again and took a sip of his coffee. Jesy had thankfully made a coffee run a few hours ago, though she didn't know why they were still in the office this late. Liam had made the executive call that they would keep this in house, meaning between the three of them. If Zayn had been kidnapped, it meant that he had information on the case, information the opposing side didn't want them to have. That only meant one thing. The moment too late tips, the being one step behind, the bomb being too easy as if they'd known MI6 would be there, it wasn't just a coincidence. There was definitely a mole in the agency, which meant that no one else could be trusted on this. It was Zayn. They couldn't risk it. Whoever was behind this, they had made it personal. 

“Harry,” Niall burst into his office, a frantic look on his face. “I found it. I found the van!”

Harry sat up straight. “How? Where is it?”

“The burner phone,” Niall was slightly out of breath. “Louis’ burner phone. He sent me a message.”

“Louis?” Harry said, his voice trembling. No, this couldn't be happening. “What did he say?”

“It was just coordinates. I already looked. It's a field in Bristol,” Niall said, turning to walk out the door. “Satellite coverage puts the van there. Come on, Liam is getting the chopper ready. We're leaving now.”

Harry didn't move. He didn't want to think it, let alone say it, but he knew Niall wasn't thinking clearly right now, and as much as he was in the same boat, as much as he had really fucking hoped Louis wasn't behind this, he had to be rational. “Niall, this could be a trap.”

“Don't you think I know that?” Niall demanded, tensing as he turned to face Harry. Harry cringed internally at the look on Niall’s face. He had never seen Niall look so defeated. “But it's Zayn, Harry. I have to risk it.”

Of course. He understood that, better than he wanted to let on actually. He just nodded and wasted no more time as he grabbed his phone and his gun before he followed Niall out. Come whatever may, they were going to get Zayn back.

\---

The helicopter ride to Bristol took them 30 minutes, which was better than the two hours it would have taken if they had taken a car, but also, the 30 minutes had been too agonizingly long as Niall had spent the entire time telling Harry what exactly he was going to do to whoever had taken Zayn from him. Which, okay, normally it would just be funny, but there was a desperation in Niall’s eyes that made it anything but funny. Harry just put his hand on Niall’s knee, trying to calm and comfort him. It did seem to work a bit, but that look didn't completely leave.

Liam had arranged for the helicopter to land one mile from the van. They knew it might be a trap, and so, they wanted to go into it their own way. There was a car waiting for them on the airfield when they landed. Niall all but ran ahead of them to it. Harry didn't blame him. This was one step closer to finding Zayn.

Liam was on the phone with Luke while they drove over. He was having Luke check satellite feeds and thermal patterns to find out what they were walking into. “You're absolutely sure it's clear?” Liam asked for the 10th time. Harry couldn't hear Luke’s answer, but he was sure it was the same as the last nine times. The area looked clear. It didn't mean there wasn't a sniper stationed further away. “Okay, thanks, Luke.” He hung up, and turned to them, sighing. “I still don't know if we should trust him.”

“The lackeys want him back as much as we do,” Harry said. Niall scoffed at that. “Okay, they want him back as much as you and I do, M. Besides, Zayn picked them himself. He trusts them.”

Liam nodded, though he didn't look convinced. However, before he could say anything else, the car stopped. They had arrived. He looked at Harry, who nodded. He knew what Liam wanted, and took out his gun. If this was a trap, they'd give it all they had.

They exited the car warily, and saw the van sitting in the field, exactly as the text had implied. “Styles,” Liam said, grabbing Niall’s shoulder, as if to hold him back. Harry nodded and approached the vehicle. After all, he was the field agent here. Circling the van, he didn't notice anything out of place, nor did he when he opened the front door. It looked clean. He checked under the dash to make sure there was no bomb, and then popped the bonnet. He found nothing there either.

“Clear,” he called to Liam. 

Liam and Niall made their way over and opened the back, peering inside. Harry joined them. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something he was missing about this, which lately never seemed like a good thing. 

“Zayn,” Niall breathed as he pulled out a phone, Zayn’s phone to be exact. So Zayn had been there, but there was no sign of him now. In fact, aside from the phone, there was absolutely nothing in the back. 

“This is definitely the van they took him in then,” Liam said softly. He nodded, almost to himself and pulled out his phone, quickly dialing a number. “I'm going to need forensics at 51°24'N 2°32'W followed by an extraction.”

Harry was still staring at the van. He knew there was something, he just couldn't place it. Then, it hit him. Louis. This van had been parked outside of Louis’ flat complex yesterday, the day Zayn had been kidnapped. It had been right there, and according to the security feeds they'd watched earlier, he'd gone to Louis’ only a couple of hours after it had happened. Oh God, what if Zayn had been in the van still then?

No, this couldn't be happening. Oh God, he couldn't breathe. He knew he was having a panic attack when his body went numb. He'd experienced this before, though it had been a long time. Fuck, he really couldn't breathe.

It was when he started shaking and hyperventilating that Niall and Liam noticed what was happening. They'd seen this before, and so when Liam stepped in front of him, putting a hand on his arm, he wasn't surprised. “Harry, breathe. Follow my lead. In through your nose, out through your mouth.” Harry focused on Liam’s breathing, trying to mirror it. “That's it, Harry, just breathe. You're alright.”

It took several minutes before Harry’s breathing returned to normal and he stopped shaking. He closed his eyes, and trying to remain calm as Niall asked, “What happened, Harry?”

It quite literally felt like he was being punched in the gut as he responded, “I know who took Zayn.”

“Who?” Liam asked.

Harry didn't want to say it. He really didn't. He didn't want to believe it, but now, it was staring him in the face. It all made sense now, and it fucking sucked. How could he have been so stupid? He should have known from the beginning, but no, he had let himself be distracted. He had let himself cross lines he would never have imagined crossing before. 

“Who, Harry?” Niall asked again, desperately.

“Louis. It was Louis.”


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Harry hadn't slept at all that night. How could he? He could have been standing just meters away from Zayn, trapped in a van last night, and he'd been too distracted by a pair of green tights. He was a horrible friend and an even worse spy. 

Liam had taken Harry and Niall back to his place after forensics had arrived to transport the van back to HQ, because Harry was still slightly shaking and Niall was inconsolable. This was the first time Harry could remember in a long time that he hadn't had to break into Liam’s house.

Harry sighed and got out of bed, going to the bathroom to splash water on his face and brush his teeth. He knew he had to face them now. He had to admit what he had done, what he had let happen. He had to tell them he was weak, and then take whatever bullets Liam sent into his kneecaps. He made his way down to the kitchen slowly, hearing them talking quietly in there. Well, it was time to face the music.

They both stopped talking and looked at him when he entered. They were sitting at the table. Liam pointed to a coffee mug set down on the table Harry nodded gratefully and sat down next to him, taking a sip of the drink. “Morning,” he said quietly. He could feel Niall’s eyes on him, but he didn't look up at him. He couldn't look Niall in the eye and tell him what had happened, what he had done.

“Are you feeling better, Haz?” Liam asked gently. 

Harry sighed. “Not really, but that won't change until we get Zayn back.”

Until he took Louis down, he didn't add. Because now he knew what he had to do. Louis had done this. Louis had kidnapped his best friend, and had bombed a whole lot of places and killed a whole lot of people. Okay, so maybe that was stretching it a bit. They didn't know if it was Louis who had done all that. He could have kidnapped Zayn for a whole other reason. It didn't seem likely, and Harry had long since learned that there was no such thing as coincidences, but it was still possible, he hoped. 

“We've been thinking,” Liam said. “You said that the van was at Louis’ flat complex, right?” Harry nodded. “Well, there's something else. The van was in Bristol.”

“Yeah, I know, Liam, I was there when we found it,” Harry refrained from rolling his eyes.

“Don't be a twat, Harry,” Niall said. “The point is the van was in Bristol, where the Prime Minister had his meeting on the day on the Summit, a meeting he never went to and wasn’t scheduled anywhere else except for one place.”

It took Harry only a second to get it. Bristol. Louis’ calendar had said that the PM would be attending a meeting in Bristol on the 31st, the day of the Summit. The only thing was that the attendee list said that Cowell would be at the Summit, as did the fact that he was there. Even Louis had told him that Cowell would be there. The only thing, literally the only thing, that placed the PM in Bristol was Louis’ calendar, a calendar he wrote in himself. 

“This- this can't be,” Harry said, trying to reason with himself. He forgot for a second where he was and who he was with. Instead, he was too focused on the fact that it all made sense now. There was no need to hope that Louis wasn't behind the bombings too, because it was all connected, and it all lead right back to Louis. He felt himself starting to panic again, and he gripped the table to steady himself. “How could I -- fuck.”

He almost missed the look Liam and Niall exchanged. But he didn't miss it, and he didn't need to have Zayn’s brain to know what that meant. They knew. “You broke protocol, didn't you?” Liam asked quietly.

Harry hung his head in shame. He didn't want to admit it, but he had imagined that when Louis was proven innocent, he'd be able to tell the boys, and Niall would make some wisecrack about their future wedding, and Liam would tell him he was going to shoot him, but he would be kidding. He'd actually be happy for him deep down for finding something most spies never got to find. Then there would be Zayn. In an ideal world Zayn wouldn't have been kidnapped and he'd just be relieved that Harry didn't have to take Louis down, that he'd been right about his friend all along. Only, this wasn't an ideal world. Zayn had been kidnapped, and he couldn't have been more wrong about his best mate. “Yes.”

“You love him,” Niall said. There was no joke this time, only sadness. It hurt him to see Niall so defeated. 

“I do.” He wanted to crawl into a hole to get away from the emotions he could feel radiating off of Niall right now, all of which was his fault.

They were quiet for a long time. Harry knew they were thinking of what to do now, and well, Harry deserved any punishment they threw at him. How could he had been so stupid? If anything happened to Zayn because he had been so weak he was never going to forgive himself.

“I'm so sorry, Niall,” he said. He couldn't help it. He looked up at Niall, though he kept his gaze trained on Niall’s forehead. He couldn't look him in the eyes still.

Niall sighed. “You can't help who you fall in love with. And we all liked Louis.”

Harry could though. Louis was a mission, and he had crossed a line he never should have crossed. Now Zayn was suffering for it.

Liam stood up slowly. They both looked at him inquisitively. “I’m going to go get my gun,” he explained. They both just continued to stare at him, confused. “I figure I should at least give Niall the honors to shoot you this time, at least before I save you and then shoot you again.”

For one split second, Harry thought that maybe he was serious. And okay, he had said he would take whatever punishment they threw at him, but he didn't think they'd actually want to shoot him.

Then, Niall snorted. It broke Harry out of his thoughts long enough so he could look at Niall, really look him in the eyes. For the first time since Zayn had gone missing, he saw a spark of the old Niall come alive. Gone was the desperation, replaced only by determination. And he couldn't help it anymore. He laughed. He laughed hard, and soon Niall and Liam joined him. 

“I knew it,” Niall said when they had all calmed down. “I called it ages ago. Zayn owes me ten pounds.”

He said it so easily, as if he knew it was only a matter of time before they got Zayn back. Harry loved how optimistic Niall was, how he always had faith. 

Liam was completely somber now. He put a hand on Harry’s arm. “You know what you're going to have to do, right? You know what this means?”

Harry nodded once, ignoring the way his chest tightened at the thought of it. “I'm going to use Louis to find Zayn, and when we find proof that it was in fact him behind the bombings, I am going to take him down.” He was glad his voice sounded more confident than he felt.

He knew what his duty was, but could he actually do this? Could he take Louis down? Liam seemed to be questioning the same thing as he stared at Harry.

Then Niall, of course, had to speak up. “Also, I know you love him now and all, Harry, but if he so much as hurts one hair on Zayn’s head, I am going to kill him.”

Okay, so maybe he wouldn't have to take Louis down himself. That helped, a bit. 

\---

Harry had been on a lot of difficult missions since he joined MI6, but this was the worst for him. It wasn’t even about national security, that he could deal with. Hell, he dealt with threats to national security all the time. That was his job. No, it was because this was personal and Zayn was only part of it. He loved Louis. It made him sick to his stomach, but it didn’t make it any less true. 

After he had left Liam’s, Harry had decided to stop being as careful as he had been. He was going into full surveillance mode. He couldn’t take the not knowing, it was going to make him insane. He needed to know what happened to Zayn. He was so disgusted with himself that he let his own feelings get in the way of his mission and that one of his best friends was suffering for it. He felt disgusted that with everything he knew, the first person he wanted to talk about it to was the person who was behind all of it. There was no “likely behind it” anymore. They knew it was him. Now they just had to prove it. And find Zayn.

Harry was standing outside Louis’ flat in one of Zayn’s masks trying to look casual. It was a chilly day and slightly drizzling, the perfect day for spying because people didn’t spend any extra time trying to get to where they are going. He had one earbud in and he was listening to the feed in Louis’ living room and following the video on his iPad. Louis was getting ready to go out and Harry was going to be with him every step of the way. He wasn’t going to rely on GPS tracking anymore. He wanted to see everyone Louis interacted with, everyone he looked at; if he made a weird noise, Harry wanted to know it. 

Louis came out of his front door in a blue jacket and a cute red scarf and the attraction Harry felt turned bitter and cold in the pit of his stomach. Harry tucked his iPad into the inside of his jacket, but kept the headphones in. Louis’ hands were shoved into his jacket pocket for warmth and Harry had to wish he wasn’t there walking with him. 

He followed Louis quickly through the rainy streets. It was the kind of day that Harry secretly loved, but he wasn’t able to enjoy it now. He had to keep pace with Louis and remain unnoticed. They ended up on the DLR platform which was empty when they arrived. Harry cursed to himself, but chose to stand about eight or nine feet away from where Louis was. 

He watched out of the corner of his eyes as Louis pulled out his phone. Harry pulled his out as well and opened up the app Zayn had installed as a mirror of Louis’ phone. He pretended to use his phone as he watched everything Louis did on his screen. Louis checked his calendar. He opened his texts and sent one to his mum saying he missed her. Harry frowned at that. It just didn’t make sense to him. 

Harry could hear the train coming in and he looked up to watch it pull in. Louis kept looking at his phone until the train stopped completely, but Harry could see he was only looking at his Facebook. Harry got in the train carriage in front of Louis’, but he sat near the back so he could partially look through the doorway into the other carriage. They got off at London Bridge.

He followed Louis for the rest of the day. They didn’t go anywhere very interesting. Louis had lunch with Fizzy. He went to the dry cleaners’. He bought a bag of crisps and a packet of biscuits at the Tesco Express before heading back to his flat. It was uneventful, which made Harry feel itchy. How could he be so calm right now? So casual? 

He had literally just kidnapped his best friend. This was ridiculous. 

He’d left Louis at his flat about half an hour before and was now laying across his couch when his phone buzzed on the table. It was a text from Louis asking if he wanted to hang out. Harry wished he didn’t want to respond, and it made him feel icky how much he wanted to. 

Harry’s hands were shaking when he responded. He put the phone down and exhaled a deep breath. He could do this. He knew he could. This was what his job was anyway. To be a spy, to be whatever Louis needed and not get attached or emotionally involved. Besides, it would probably be better to have Louis in his own flat where he could watch him rather than follow him around the city all day. 

He texted Liam a quick update and got an immediate response that said Don’t let him out of your sight.

Harry swallowed hard. Buttercup meowed at him from the floor, clearly looking for her dinner, but instead he pulled her up and snuggled her close to his chest. He needed this, no matter how much she squirmed to be free. Harry held onto her and tried to calm his heart until his buzzer went off. 

He finally let Buttercup be free and moved slowly to the door. He was only delaying the inevitable, he knew this, but it didn’t stop him. He took a deep breath before opening the door. He had to get back into character. He hadn’t needed to pretend with Louis for a long time, honestly, as if he ever had. But he had to tonight because he was still so rattled from what they found last night and he needed to find a way past that. He had to do his job and save Zayn. 

He pushed it out of his mind as best as he could. He focused on Louis, the Louis that he loved. The Louis he hoped was on the other side of the door.

He pulled the door open and Louis was there, leaning against the door frame with an easy smile on his face. Harry felt like the wind was being knocked out of him. He stared at him for a moment, letting the guilt, the disgust, the shame wash away. It was embarrassingly easy. 

Louis quirked an eyebrow at him before moving through the doorway and pressed a kiss on Harry’s lips. 

“Hey cutie,” Louis said with his lips still on Harry’s. Harry wrapped his arm around Louis’ waist and spun him into the hallway, pushing the door closed with his foot. 

“Hey yourself,” Harry mumbled before pressing their lips back together. He pressed Louis into the wall and kissed him deeper. He ran his hand up Louis’ arm and tucked it behind Louis’ head, slotting his fingers in Louis’ hair. He ran his tongue over Louis’ bottom lip, and then his teeth, and then softly against Louis’ tongue. Harry heard Louis sigh softly before Louis tilted his chin to allow Harry more access to his mouth. 

Harry felt hands on his waist and fingers digging into the waistband of his trousers. He felt warm all over.

This wasn’t what Harry had intended, but he wasn’t fully against it. Still, he had to get back to the mission. 

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against Louis’. Harry could feel Louis’ breath hitting his chin. He pushed his lips forward slightly for one last peck, and then another. 

“What a welcome,” Louis said softly.

Harry let out a chuckle and finally removed his hands from Louis’ body. 

“I’m happy to see you,” Harry said, just as quietly. He felt sick with how true that statement was, but he did his best for his face to remain neutral.

“Feel free to continue to be happy to see me,” Louis said with a laugh. 

“I think dinner first?” Harry said pulling him towards the kitchen. “I can make some pasta?”

“That sounds delicious to me.” Louis kicked his shoes off by the door to the kitchen and then climbed onto the counter by the sink. “Can you do it wearing nothing but an apron?”

Harry let out a loud laugh and threw out a wink for good measure. “I most certainly can.”

He cooked them dinner in his apron and Louis slapped his bum every time he turned around. He tried to pretend he was okay through it all and he thought he was succeeding well enough. He hated that it wasn't harder to be around Louis, that he fit into his role so easily, so naturally. 

He gave in, and he tried hard not to hate himself for it. They flirted all through dinner with their ankles locked under the table and afterwards he let Louis take him to bed and press him into the mattress until he begged. 

He vowed he would be better on Sunday, but he wasn’t.

They had lazy morning sex, panting into each other’s necks when the room was still mostly dark. He tried to act like this was a part of the plan, especially when he got a text from Liam asking about any updates. He couldn’t very well say two orgasms in I think he’s innocent because Harry knew he wasn't and he hated himself for what he was doing right now but he couldn't tell Liam all that. So Harry just told him everything seemed normal because he wasn’t sure what else there was to say. Louis was being normal. Liam responded back and told him to dig and Harry promised that he would. 

But he didn’t manage to until after lunch. Or rather, he didn't manage to until Niall texted him, asking him how it was going. And that did it. Of course it did. Because Zayn was still missing, and the only person who knew what happened to him had his feet in Harry's lap at the moment.

They were lounging on the couch in his living room with Sky Sports on low volume. Louis had a book in his hands, but to Harry it didn't really seem like he was reading it. Harry was pretending to watch Arsenal lose, but he was focused on trying to work his way through what was going on. 

Louis put his book down on his chest and stretched his legs out on Harry's lap, his toes flexing over the arm of the couch. “Do you want to do anything this afternoon?”

Harry took a moment to respond and had to consciously remind himself to gnaw on his lip as he worked himself up to fishing for information. 

“We could do something with Zayn and Niall maybe?” Harry suggested. He looked at Louis and watched his face to see if he had any sort of reaction. “We haven't done anything with them for awhile.”

Louis shrugged his shoulders slightly and nodded. “Maybe they’d want to catch dinner?”

Harry swallowed hard. How could Louis lie to him so easily? He tried to make his voice sound as evenly as possible when he spoke. “That could work.”

“Should I give Zayn a call?” Louis asked. 

He felt like screaming. Instead, ever the super spy, he calmly said, “Yeah, see if he wants to meet us at that Italian place near their flat. Niall loves it there.”

Louis had a lopsided grin on his face as he pulled out his phone. He was probably remembering the same thing as Harry - Niall with his entire shirt covered in sauce leaning so far back in his chair he almost fell over and moaning like he’d just had an orgasm. Niall was always the epitome of class.

Harry could hear the phone cut straight to voicemail. He bit his lip. He watched Louis’ brows furrow and he lowered his phone and stared at the screen for a second to make sure he called the right number. How had he missed this before? Louis was good. He was the best actor Harry had ever seen. Hell, if he wasn't a terrorist, he’d probably be offered a job as an undercover agent for MI6. But he was a terrorist, a terrorist that had kidnapped their mutual best friend.

“That’s weird,” Louis said. “His phone is literally never off. Like I don’t think he’s turned the phone off since he bought it.”

“Hmm,” Harry forced out. 

“Shall I call Niall?” Louis asked, tapping on his phone.

“Nah,” Harry said. He swallowed hard again. Why was this so hard? “Maybe they are having some alone time.”

Louis wiggled his eyebrows. “We could have some alone time.” Louis prodded Harry’s lap with his foot and Harry forced out a laugh.

He felt like he was giving up. Like he was on his very last hit of the most addictive drug and he’d allow it to do anything to him as long as he could ride the high a little longer. He felt so incredibly guilty about Zayn, and even more so about how he was behaving right in that moment, and yet he couldn’t help it. Harry loved him, still, and he couldn't help the way his body and heart responded to Louis’ touch.

He let Louis pull him in for a kiss and Harry wished, albeit hopelessly, that it wasn’t for the last time. 

\--

Harry had tried his best to keep Louis from going into work on Monday, but he wasn’t having it. He even tried sexual persuasion and Louis wasn’t biting. He almost resorted to tying him up, thinking longingly of the silk ties in the box under Louis’ bed, but he didn’t do it. He was going to have to resort to regular surveillance. 

He used Zayn’s mask again to follow Louis when he left for work in the morning. He didn’t really understand how the masks worked totally, so he was still stuck on the face he was using on Saturday. He didn’t think it would be too big of a deal, the streets would be pretty busy at this time. 

Louis stopped for a coffee in the Costa they used to grab breakfast at and then spent his time on the platform trying to blow it cool. Harry stood diagonally behind him. Thankfully the platform was fuller than it had been on Saturday. The train was really full when it came in and Harry was afraid if he got in a separate carriage he’d lose Louis, so he managed to squeeze into the same one as him. 

They were both stuck standing and holding onto the middle pole. Harry’s heart was going insane. The only thing different about him was his face. Louis could recognize his smell, his clothes, his hair. This could go so terribly wrong if Louis even tried to speak with him. He tried his best to keep his eyes averted, which was proper etiquette anyway. 

It was a long ride to Tower Gateway. He let Louis exit the train first. Harry watched him pull up the collar of his coat when he stepped off and made a sharp right into the crowd of people. Harry tried to keep at least five people between them at a time, but the crowd thinned a bit as they moved towards the Tower Hill tube station. It was getting harder to keep people between them. 

When they were crossing the street Louis looked over his shoulder and caught Harry’s eyes. He knew that the face he was wearing had brown eyes and a crooked nose, but he still felt a streak of panic go through him. Especially when Louis seemed to have a spark of recognition.

Harry made a quick decision and picked up his pace, passing him on the pavement and hurrying towards the station. He prayed this wasn’t when he lost Louis. Liam would seriously shoot him for this. 

He waited on the platform with his foot tapping until he saw Louis appear a few moments later. He was much farther up the platform, but Harry was afraid to move any closer. He wasn’t sure what he should do. He couldn’t risk leaving Louis alone in case he didn’t get off at Westminster like he was meant to and continued on to wherever he was holding Zayn. 

When the train pulled in, he stepped back from the edge and walked quickly towards the carriage Louis entered and managed to slip in right before the doors closed. 

He leaned back against the doors when it started to move and tried to give it a minute before he let himself find Louis in the carriage. When he allowed himself a casual sweep of the space he found Louis staring right at him. Harry kept his eyes moving even though his heart started to beat rapidly. 

He tried to remain calm through every stop, even as he got jostled farther into the carriage and closer to Louis each time. He was just a regular bloke on his way to work like the rest of the people here. That was the attitude he needed to project, and God he hoped it was working.

He was almost afraid to get off the tube when Louis did. It didn’t seem like him to confront a stranger on the train for just happening to have the same route to work. But did he even really know this Louis? The one who would kidnap his best friend? The one who was terrorist? No, he didn't know Louis at all, it seemed.

Louis got off at Westminster like usual. Half their carriage disembarked with him, but Harry still wished he had a little more coverage. He moved slowly on the platform while Louis scurried ahead. He did his best to keep him in his sights as long as he could. 

When they were out on the road Louis kept on the pavement and Harry ducked into the park to add some distance between them. He hoped this would keep Louis from seeing him still. 

He watched from a bench across the street as Louis showed his badge and was allowed entrance to Number 10. He waited until he saw him go inside. It was up to Jesy then.

He gave it another minute before turning back through the park and towards the tube station again. A drizzle had started. It felt good on his skin. He’d gotten hot while following Louis. 

He grabbed a taxi when he was farther down the road and rode in it silently towards work. 

The rest of his morning was relatively uneventful, aside from continuing to try and track down Zayn and avoiding the glares Niall kept tossing him. He knew he’d messed up a little on the weekend, but he had tried his hardest. Or at least he’d given it a solid effort. 

A little after eleven Jesy sent him a text that Louis was heading out for a meeting. Harry had seen it on the calendar, but he was reluctant to follow him in person again. It seemed like too big of a risk. He was going to track Louis with the GPS instead. 

Harry pulled out his tablet and opened the app to track Louis, but it was blank. Harry poked at it a few times, his finger pinging on the glass screen. He restarted it. When he opened the app again it was still blank. 

That was weird.

He pulled out his phone to see if the issue was the same there. When he opened the app all of the information from that morning was there while it reloaded to update. The updated screen was blank. 

The GPS was gone. The texts, the calendar, the emails were all gone. 

Harry dialed Louis’ number. This just had to be a weird glitch. But it rang through to voicemail. 

He called Jesy instead. She answered on the third ring in a hushed voice.

“Did he leave already?” Harry asked.

“Five minutes ago,” she said. “Why?”

“His phone is off, all of my information is gone.”

“What do you mean gone?” Jesy said, her voice raising on the end.

“I’ve got nothing, I’m blind,” Harry was starting to panic. “You saw him leave?”

“Yeah, I walked him to the front door. I saw him go through it. I swear.”

Liam had installed the feeds to Downing Street in all of their computers so they could pull them up when he needed. Harry pulled it quickly with Jesy on the phone. He rewound it to just before he got the text. He saw Jesy and Louis in the hallway. Louis was laughing at something she said with his phone in his hands and then he left through the front door. When Harry switched to the external camera Harry saw him walk to a taxi and climb in the back seat. They then drove off. He related all of this to Jesy. 

“You don’t think someone has taken him too?” Harry said quietly. He hoped Jesy said yes.

“H,” she started, her voice sounded like she was pitying him a little.

He didn’t let her finish. He knew exactly what she'd say, because he knew what this meant as much as he didn’t want to admit it. “He’s gone dark.”

If the convention center had been the end, there probably wouldn’t have been a need for him to make himself disappear. He’d gone underground. Harry remembered the look of recognition on Louis’ face at the tube. Harry probably had spooked him earlier. He knew he was being watched and he ran.

Fuck. 

\---

Harry was incredibly stressed. It had been four hours since he lost Louis and he had yet to turn up anywhere. He had facial recognition software running on all the CCTV cameras in the city and there was nothing. 

Liam had been beyond angry when Harry told him the news, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it. Both he and Jesy had done their jobs to the best of their abilities. Louis had disappeared into thin air. They had traced the taxi’s journey across London and when it finally stopped there was no passenger inside. There was nowhere for Louis to have gone. 

But Harry wasn’t going to stop looking. He was more focused than he had been in months, typing angrily at his computer while he scanned cameras around the city and checked all of Louis’ family's social media and phone activity for a trace of Louis. But there was nothing. 

He was still in his office, hunched over his desk and cursing, when Liam popped his head in. 

“Luke thinks he has cracked the encrypted file,” Liam said. He didn’t comment on how much of a mess Harry’s desk was or how Harry had tugged and pulled his hair so much that it was laying in greasy clumps over his shoulders. Harry loved him for that.

“What did he find?”

“He said we’d have to see for ourselves,” Liam said opening the door wider. “Come on, he’s setting up in my office.”

Harry pushed out of his chair and ran a hand through his hair, trying to right it before leaving his office. “Lead the way.”

He followed Liam to Liam’s office down the hall. He tried to walk normally, but he wanted to run. This felt like the first break they’d had since Zayn went missing. It seemed like forever ago when Harry had gotten that voicemail from him, but it had only been four days. 

When they entered Liam’s office, Luke was behind Liam’s desk and the projector was pulled down on the wall behind him. Harry could see the desktop of the computer on the screen with a folder open and one file sitting in it. Niall was standing next to Luke with his arms crossed and a scowl that had been permanently on his face since Friday. 

Harry took a seat facing Liam’s desk and the projector. He didn’t expect Liam to sit in the chair next to him, but Liam did. It was so strange to see him on this side of the desk again. Niall stayed standing.

“It took me a long time,” Luke started, and Harry saw Niall's scowl deepen, “but I finally got the encrypted file opened.”

Luke clicked to open the file and was prompted for a passcode. Luke then chose another program from the desktop that ran through a coded file quickly. It took a minute, but then the encrypted file was open for them to look at.

It was a series of documents and videos.

“Do you want me to open them, boss?” Luke asked.

“Start at the top,” Liam said. Harry saw Niall start worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. 

Luke clicked open the first file. It was all the information they had on Lucas Boring, the bomber in Jakarta and Buenos Aires, including the audio file of Louis’ call to Niall seeking information.

Harry was confused. “What is this?” 

Liam shrugged and told Luke to open the next file. It included the audio files from the bugged call Harry had heard of Louis ordering more men for Cowell from Frank Sharp. It included Sharp’s criminal file. It also had information that implied one of Frank’s former employees that he had recommended to Louis had been the bomber in Moscow. 

“No seriously,” Harry said, leaning forward in his chair. “What the hell is this?”

“Why would Zayn be compiling this? We already know it all?” Niall asked.

“He didn’t,” Luke said.

“What do you mean he didn’t?” Liam asked. 

“He didn’t create this, not as far as I can tell at least. When he was looking at it on Thursday, he had broken into it, like I did. That’s how I was finally able to get in. I followed his path,” Luke explained.

“Well then who created it?” Niall asked.

“I don’t know?” Luke looked disappointed in himself. “I couldn’t see when it was created, but I do know that it was created on the computer in the lab. But we all use it, it could have been any of the others.”

“It could have still been Zayn though, just sometime earlier?” Niall asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Luke said. “It’s been accessed since he went missing.”

Silence settled over them. That wasn’t what any of them expected. 

“But why was it even made?” Harry asked finally. 

“Let’s keep looking through the files, maybe we will find some answers.” Liam said. 

So Luke clicked through them all. Harry felt his heart sink at every file they opened. It was all Louis. Every single thing they had on him laid out in an extremely damning chronological order. There was no way for him to possibly look guiltier. Every phone call. Every meeting. The plans they found in his apartment, video of when he cased the convention center, the video of him disappearing for ten minutes during the conference. 

The facts didn’t lie. Louis looked bad. And now he was missing, he’d run because they had all of this. Harry felt like he was either going to cry or vomit, maybe both.

How Zayn even managed to look at all of this without throwing a chair or even just deleting it, Harry didn’t know. Was this what he found? Is this why he called Harry? To tell Harry he had been wrong and it was all Louis?

“Why would anyone make this?” Niall asked. “If it wasn’t Zayn, and trust me, he would never make a file like this, then why would anyone else in the lab make it?”

Luke didn’t have any answers for them on that. 

“You kind of forget how much information we have,” Liam said rubbing a hand over the back of neck. “Until you see it all laid out like this. It’s everything we have, neatly in one spot, practically tied together with a bow.”

Harry swallowed hard.

Liam continued to speak, “But it’s not the whole truth, is it? There’s intel we have gathered that has been omitted. Like Louis telling Jesy that Ann Marie gave him tickets to Comic Con where he cased the convention center. Or the fact we know he wasn’t setting those meetings with Greg James himself.”

“Whether or not Louis is the bad guy, which as this whole file shows, he most likely is, why omit the rest of it?” Harry said, trying to remain calm and even toned. Inside though, inside he was dying. 

“You know who isn’t mentioned?” Niall said. “Cowell. Aside from being Louis’ boss, there is no connection to him.”

“To protect his image, maybe?” Harry suggested.

“From what? Nobody knows the truth but us,” Niall said.

And that stumped Harry, because he didn’t know. None of this made any sense. Why did this encrypted file even exist? And who created it? Someone was preparing for when Louis was arrested, but if it wasn’t one of them, then who would have the foresight to do so? And why did Zayn disappear directly after seeing it?

 

None of them seemed to know. Harry needed answers because if he didn’t get some soon he was probably going to pull all of his hair out. 

\---

He was on his way to HQ when he heard it. He could practically feel the ground shaking. It was like Harry had left London and entered a war zone, or rather, that London had somehow become one. Just as he expected, his phone started ringing. What he didn't expect, well at least not completely, was that the latest ringtone Niall had set for him was the Kim Possible theme song. It was so inappropriate to hear Call Me, Beep Me blast out at a time like this. 

He looked at the ID before answering. “M,” he greeted.

“007, where are you?” Liam asked, all business laced with a tinge of concern.

“Just got off the tube, what's going on?” 

“When you arrive, come upstairs to the Command Center immediately,” Liam said before hanging up.

Right. Harry put his phone back in his pocket and ran the rest of the way to HQ. The walk should have taken him fifteen minutes, but he made it in seven. When he jogged past Vauxhall Bridge he could see some smoke in the distance, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. 

He was out of breath when he arrived. He waved his badge at Paul, the security man, before rushing to the elevator. 

He made his way to the Command Center briskly. They didn't use it too often, only for the biggest of cases. That they were using it now meant it was going to be a long day for MI6. He was not surprised to find it in a state of mild chaos. Agents and personnel were running around, and the big screen on the wall was shifting through the streets of London. It appeared to Harry that he was right before. London seemed to have become a war zone.

“What happened?” he asked as he stopped between Liam and Niall.

Liam gestured for him to wait a second as he was barking orders at one of the techies, Alexa. Harry saw that she was looking at satellite feeds on her computer screen. He waited somewhat patiently until Liam turned to him. “London is on fire.”

“I can see that,” Harry said, looking pointedly at the screen. “Care to explain how that happened?”

“It appears we were right,” Liam said, appearing completely calm. Harry knew that was just a facade, that Liam was probably frantic on the inside. But ever the perfect leader, Liam was not going to break down now, not when he had to set an example. “The Summit wasn't the main target of the terrorist attack. It was London all along. On fucking Bonfire Night.”

“They could have been a little more original,” Harry said bitterly. When Liam turned again to talk to someone else, Harry turned to Niall. “What happened, Niall?”

“The rail stations and bridges,” Niall said. He was typing something on his computer. “They've been blown up.”

Harry waited for him to say more, but when he didn't, he grew impatient. He could see that. What he wanted to know, what he couldn't say, was how could he fix this. He couldn't help but feel like this was his fault. He had lost track of Louis, and now London was paying for it.

“Which rail stations and bridges?” Harry asked when Niall didn't elaborate further.

“All of them,” it was Liam who answered. “Victoria, King’s Cross, Paddington, you name it, it’s been hit. Victoria Bus Depot too. All of the bridges leading out of the city are down for count, and the motorways as well, M1, M4, M25, any road or rail station leading in or out of London is down.”

Harry blanched. He’d just been at Vauxhall, he had passed underneath Victoria Station just before the bomb blew. He just barely made it out before the explosions and he didn’t even know it. London was burning. That was more than half the city. “With just bombs?”

“It looks like he used car bombs,” Liam explained, looking pointedly at Harry. Harry knew the he Liam was referring to meant Louis. He felt sick to his stomach. How could Louis do this? And more importantly, how could they have missed this? “They all went off at once at 0800. The city is in a panic. Met Police is working to get Parliament is locked down, and the Royal family has been put under emergency protection.”

“So what are we doing here then?” Harry said, looking at the screen again. 

“The military and police are handling the chaos,” Liam said. “We are here making sure there isn't anything else coming, and looking for the person responsible before we make our move. Our number one priority is cutting the head off the beast. They’ll handle the field otherwise.”

That made sense. After all, they were the only ones who already knew who was responsible. Louis. Louis had done this. He was burning London to the ground. “What's the casualty number?” He had to know. He had to know how many graves Louis had dug.

Liam looked at him with a look that almost looked like pity. “We don't know yet, but they're estimating it in the thousands so far.” Liam’s phone rang then, diverting his attention.

Harry needed to do something. He couldn't just stand here. This was his fault. He lost Louis. No, he fell in love with Louis. He fell for his act, and it had made him sloppy. It had made him miss this. “What do you need me to do?” He asked Liam when he got off the phone.

“Find him,” Liam said gravely.

Harry nodded and took the empty computer station next to Niall that he was sure Niall had saved for him. Thankfully, the Command Center had rows of computer stations for multiple agents to work in times of crisis. Most of them never got used. They all just sat in three rows facing the big screen with the few on the side, and Harry knew that he was not alone when he thought it was the best waste of money to have them just sitting there unused. Today, however, the first two rows were completely filled, and only the station next to Niall was empty on the third. Yup, it was going to be a long day, he thought again as he turned to the computer. Now, he just had to find Louis.

First, however, Harry couldn't help but look up the footage from the bombs. He needed to see up close what Louis had done. He winced as he saw the first image of Victoria Station. He still couldn’t believe how close he was to being there. The entrance was in shambles, and there were police and and military personnel looking through the rubble for survivors. He noticed the little colored flags littered across the ground, and he knew he would never unsee them. Red flags were for bodies they found, and the yellow were for body parts. It was how they distinguished them, he knew already, how they knew which part belonged to which person. The blue flags were the worst. That meant they didn't know whose leg that was, or whose head, or finger or arm. The blue flags were for the unclaimed body parts. Victoria Station must have been one of the first fires they were able to extinguish if they were already so far along in identifying bodies. 

He looked up King’s Cross next, then Waterloo Bridge, London Bridge, M1, the list went on and on. Most of them were still burning, but if they weren’t, all he could see were the flags, flags Louis was responsible for. He wanted to throw up. Harry felt Niall put his hand on his shoulder. He knew Niall was trying to comfort him, but there was no comfort for this.

He closed that window and pulled up the CCTV camera feeds from the day Louis went missing. He had already combed through them tirelessly, looking for where Louis could have gone, but he hadn't seen anything. There had to be something he missed, something he didn't want to see because he didn't want to believe. Now, all he could see was those colored flags.

It was a little over an hour later at 10 o’clock when his attention was diverted from his screen as Jesy called out, “Sir, you'll want to see this.” She typed a few keys on her computer and the big screen changed. 

St. Paul’s Cathedral had been hit. The entire entrance was in shambles, the pillars almost completely destroyed. The church was on fire. Harry could see people running down the stairs, stairs that were full of casualties. They had been in the church. They had thought they were safe. But they weren't. Not from Louis.

Harry had never felt more ashamed than he did in that moment. He had done this. He was responsible for this, because he had turned a blind eye to the evil that was in Louis’ soul. Those colored flags were on his hands too.

Harry had a feeling that before the day was over, the number of flags was going to go up.

\---

It was exactly at eleven o’clock when he was proven right. Liam got a call and 10 seconds later, he was telling someone to switch the big screen. The Tower of London was in flames. The bridge leading to the entrance had been knocked out, and most of the buildings, it seemed, had been rigged to come down. This time, it seemed, the casualties were mostly military personnel and police officers. He noticed a few civilians, probably workers amongst the casualties, as well as the Constable of the Tower and the Resident Governor. More innocent blood on Louis’ hands, on his.

“The ravens have left the Tower of London,” Harry heard Jade whisper. 

How much destruction was Louis going to sow unto London? Why was he even doing this? What had these people, these innocent people ever done to him? They had to stop him before more people suffered. 

He knew he couldn't do anything about it until he found Louis, and so, he turned back to his screen and concentrated harder on his mission. He had looked through all the surveillance around Louis’ flat on the day he disappeared again. But there was nothing to tell him where Louis was. He'd had a contact pay a visit to Frank, thinking maybe he would know where Louis was, but Frank too was nowhere to be found. He had followed every avenue, searched every lead, and he had nothing. Louis was still in the wind, and still very much dangerous.

“I found the next target,” Niall said suddenly. Harry looked up, hopeful and slightly nervous. Maybe they'd be able to stop this one, and maybe, they'd run into Louis there. “The thermal imaging satellite picked up the heat signatures at Trafalgar Square, the kind that a bomb would emit.”

Niall clicked a few buttons and the big screen zeroed in on Trafalgar Square. Harry noticed it right away. Near the base of Nelson’s column there was a bomb Harry recognized well. It was the same type of bomb he'd brought back from Belfast. That meant it had a timer and they needed to get to it before it went off. Liam apparently had the same idea, because he was already on the phone with bomb squad who were on standby in the city. They were at Trafalgar Square within minutes, something that was only feasible because the streets were clear and the city was on lockdown. He only hoped they weren't too late.

“Be careful, Ed,” Liam said, switching the call over to speaker over the Command Center. Ed’s helmet camera’s feed came onto the big screen. “If this bomb’s got a timer, we don't know how much time is left.”

“I'm always careful with the deadly bombs. It's kind of my MO, boss,” Ed said easily. Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes, a small smirk grazing on his lips for a second. Even as the city was being destroyed, Ed was calm as ever. It was a good thing he was Head of the Bomb Squad.

“Just don't get blown up,” Liam said.

“Approaching the target now,” Ed told them. They watched as Ed cautiously inspected the bomb. There was no timer. Fuck. “Maybe it's internal?”

“Or maybe it has a remote detonation,” Liam said. “Can you disable it?”

“Hang on,” Ed gently pulled off a panel on the side. There were a lot of wires in there. “Yeah, it might take a while. This is a little different than the last one.”

“Hurry,” Liam ordered. “And Ed?”

“I know, I know, be careful,” Ed said. “Got it, mum.”

“I'll tell your mum you said that if you get blown up,” Liam said lightly, though Harry could hear the anxiety in his tone. Harry knew Liam was just trying to keep Ed from freaking out suddenly, keep his mind distracted from the fact that he was handling a weapon that would probably vaporize him.

“That's just evil,” Ed said.

“Yeah, well. Hopefully you get it before the time runs out, and I won't have to.”

Harry couldn't even enjoy the comment about Liam being a mum. Instead, he was focused on something Liam said. Before time runs out. There was no timer on the bomb, but Harry knew this was exactly the same bomb as the timed bomb in Belfast and the one they'd stopped in the convention center. There had to be a timer. Maybe it was internal, like Ed said. 

And then it hit him. He felt so stupid for not realizing it earlier. “Ed,” he said out loud as he checked his watch. 11:52. “You have 8 minutes to disable it.”

“How do you know?” Liam asked. 

“They've been going off on the hour except for 0900,” Harry said, holding up his watch. “We always get the information a few minutes too late so none of us put it together. It's 11:53 now, so 7 minutes.”

“Got it,” Ed answered. Liam nodded appreciatively at Harry. 

Harry sighed and sat back in his chair. He had faith that Ed could disable it in 7 minutes, or at least get out of there in time if he couldn't figure it out. Now they knew. Niall clapped him on the shoulder. “Zayn could have figured that out for us in like 2 seconds,” he said sadly. “I'm glad you figured it out, but Zayn could have figured it out for us.”

Harry sighed, putting his hand on top of Niall’s, feeling the guilt and shame settle in his stomach. “I know. We'll get him back, Niall. We’ll find him, I promise.”

Niall nodded and they both turned back to the screen, intently watching Ed work. The theme song for Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb started playing from his pocket. He glared at Niall. “Seriously, my phone was in my pocket the whole time, how'd you even change it?”

“A magician never reveals his tricks,” Niall smirked slightly. Harry punched him on the arm. “Okay, okay, no need to get violent. I swiped it when you were watching the surveillance videos. For a spy, you're surprisingly unaware.”

Harry just glared at him a second longer before he picked up his phone. “Hello?”

“If you don't want your friend to die, you will come to Westminster Station,” said an automated voice.

“Louis?” Harry asked. Niall and Liam were the only ones who heard him who knew what this meant, and so their heads whipped around towards him. “Why are you doing this?”

“Westminster Station, one o’clock, come alone or your friend dies,” the voice said again.

“You better not hurt him,” Harry said. How could Louis even think about killing Zayn? He was his best friend. Then again, Louis had just blown up 75% of London. “I swear to God, do not touch him.”

The voice laughed. “Did you figure out my game yet, Harry? No? Let me explain it to you. I tell you what to do, you do it. I let your pathetic friend live. And for every hour you delay, another bomb goes off.”

“Almost got it, guys,” Ed said on the screen. “Guess you won't be telling my mum on me after all, M.”

“This one, however,” the voice continued, “is for wasting my time. Think of it as a lesson. Don't waste my time again.” 

He got it a second too late. Because the next thing he knew, his eyes traveled to the big screen just as there was a loud explosion and Ed’s video feed went out. No. He hadn't meant Zayn. Zayn wasn't the friend Harry could have saved right now. It was Ed, and he had failed. 

The room was quiet. Dead quiet. Every single person in the Command Center was staring at the screen, in complete shock. Someone switched over to a regular video feed of Trafalgar Square to see if that had actually just happened, but it was no use. Nelson’s Column was demolished, as were most of the other structures at Trafalgar Square, and Ed was nowhere to be seen. 

“Westminster Station,” Harry said, his voice colder than it had ever been before. “One o’clock. I'm coming for you, Louis, and I'm going to finish this for Ed.”

He hung up.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

It was cold in the Westminster underground station. Louis wished he had a scarf with him. The trains had stopped running a few hours ago after it became clear that London was under attack. The city was on lockdown, he’d heard the Police Commissioner on the news make a statement that everyone should stay where they are and not leave until the attacks stopped. 

Louis had been out though. He didn’t arrive at the tube station until the lines had already stopped running. 

Now he was in an abandoned carriage down to the left from the platform. He’d had to walk there carefully, keeping his eye on the rails that could electrocute him. The carriage was rigged with explosives and a detonator was sitting in the middle with a timer slowly ticking down. Louis was slouched on a seat near the middle and across from him was his boss, Simon Cowell. There was a gun sitting on the floor between them. 

They hadn’t spoken since they sat down. He expected that there would be something said, but Cowell didn’t seem that bothered at all. It made Louis a little angry. Cowell looked more casual than Louis expected him to. He was leaning back in his chair, his suit still sharp and his hair still done. Louis knew that he, on the other hand, looked a mess. 

This was probably the longest Louis had spent in the Prime Minister’s presence since he’d started working for him three years ago. And this was forced. 

He watched the time on the bomb slowly tick down and he tried to push all of his emotions away. They weren’t what he needed right now. 

Minutes passed before he saw a flashlight through the window moving it's way through the tunnel from the platform. Louis watched as it got brighter the closer the flashlight got. Cowell wasn’t watching. He hadn't even looked up.

Louis sat a little straighter when the light was just outside the carriage. He held his breath as the door pushed open and the person came inside.

“Harry?” Louis said.

\---

Harry hadn't come alone, not technically. Liam and Jeff were in position just outside the station entrance, waiting for his cue on the comms, and Niall was back at HQ, tuning in as backup. He had been stupid when he had fallen in love with Louis, but he would not be stupid now. He knew it would be suicide to face Louis alone, and while he knew there was every probability that he was going to die, he went anyway. Just not without making sure he gave himself his best chance to fix this and survive.

He had jumped off the platform onto the tracks, knowing there was every chance this could be his last mission. Liam had had Luke hack into the system and turn off the electricity thankfully, because it was dark and damp, and Harry really didn't want to be electrocuted. A few meters into the darkness he saw the carriage. It was time to face Louis, time to tell him that Harry knew what he was and what he had done. He knew this was going to end one of a few ways. If they both walked out of there alive, and the if was very important, only one of them would walk a free man. If Harry survived and stopped this now, if he didn't have to kill Louis, well, Louis was going to spend the rest of his life in prison, and Harry would be the one who had put him there. He gripped his gun and walked in.

The first thing he noticed was the gun. It was lying on the floor between Cowell and Louis, both of whom were sitting across from each other. Cowell was staring at Louis, looking a tad too relaxed considering Harry also noticed the detonator a few feet from there. Louis, however, was staring at Harry. 

“Harry?” Louis said.

Harry didn't like Louis saying his name right now, not after what he had done. “Well, I'm here,” Harry said coldly. He pointed his gun at Louis.

“What are you doing? Why are you here?” Louis asked, panic on his face. His eyes darted briefly to the gun. Harry saw now why he had believed in Louis’ innocence before. He was good at this.

“You know why,” Harry said, stepping forward. “Turn it off.”

“Harry,” Louis started.

But Harry couldn't hear his name again. “Turn it off,” he demanded. “Or I'm going to shoot you now and take my chances.”

Louis blanched visibly, stepping back slightly. Cowell started laughing. It was the first reaction Cowell had had since Harry walked in, and he was laughing.

“He's a great actor, isn't he?” the Prime Minister said in between chuckles.

Yes, he was, Harry thought. Louis was an excellent actor. He had fooled them all. But not again.

“What did he tell you he did? What fake career did he pick?” Cowell asked. That confused Harry for a second. Louis had told him he worked for Cowell. Was that some kind of cover? His gaze darted to Cowell momentarily, and what Harry saw confused him even more. He wasn't talking to Harry. He wasn't even paying attention to him. Instead, his whole attention was focused on Louis. He was asking Louis. 

Neither of them spoke. Louis kept looking between Cowell and Harry, though more than once his gaze fell back to the gun. Harry was trying to figure out what Cowell meant. It didn't make sense. Why would he ask Louis what fake job Harry had given him? Especially when it was clear that they knew who Harry was. Louis had called him at MI6. He'd blown up Ed. He knew it was a cover. 

“I think you'd make an excellent baker,” Cowell continued. Harry tensed visibly. That was the cover he'd given his family, that he worked in a bakery in London. How did Cowell know that? “What do you think, Louis? Did he tell you he was a baker?”

“IT,” Louis said quietly. “He's in IT.”

“IT?” Cowell laughed. “That would make it easier to explain all the travel, I suppose. Why would a baker need to travel to different countries every few weeks? Testing new flavors perhaps?”

Harry didn't take the bait. Instead, he pointed his gun at Cowell. “Turn the bomb off, now. Or I shoot you.”

“Well, if you aren't going to play the game,” Cowell rolled his eyes. He took his time to stand up. “You could at least play along, Agent Styles. After all, it will be the last thing you ever do.”

Harry’s eyes darted over to him. He heard Louis gasp quietly, though he didn't look over at him. He already knew about Louis, but Cowell was involved. They had him. Fuck, they'd been right this whole time. Cowell and Louis were in on this together. “You…”

“Yes, me,” Cowell smiled. It was a terrifying smile, like that of a cat before it pounced on its prey. “You've been right all these months. Congratulations. MI6 finally did something right.”

“MI6?” Louis spoke, his voice quiet and hoarse. 

“That's where he works, Louis,” Cowell said, still smiling. “Keep up, would you? There's quite a bit to go over still, and well, I'd like us to get out of here before the timer runs out, wouldn't you?”

“You work at MI6,” Louis ignored him, looking only at Harry. “This whole time, you -- you've been--.”

“Spying on you, yes,” Cowell finished for him. 

Harry didn't fall for his games, not this time. He kept his face level as he looked over at Louis. “Did you think we'd just roll over while London was going to be attacked?”

“Actually,” it was Cowell that answered him, “that's exactly what you did. Honestly, I thought Payne was supposed to be rather intelligent, what with being the youngest Head of MI6 in history. Don't tell me it was just nepotism for his dear old dad. Though, it probably was, since his little bugging of my office was so poorly done. We found those almost immediately after he left.”

“Liam,” Louis repeated. He looked dazed.

That explained why they hadn't heard anything incriminating, even though Cowell and Louis and who knew who else had clearly planned a major attack on London. Poor Liam. He was going to see this as a failure and never break any rules again.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Harry demanded, ignoring Louis and what Cowell said about Liam. “We were onto you from the beginning. We stopped your little attack at the Summit.”

“The Summit,” Cowell laughed. “Tell me, did you think we'd actually blow ourselves up? For what? To keep our covers? We knew you'd stop it. That's why Louis has been leaving little clues for you to find. Blueprints of the convention center, honestly. And you haven't been onto me, you've been onto Louis. I can tell you that now because you'll be dead soon, but I've never been suspected. Louis on the other hand, well, sorry Louis, you've been a good PA, really. It's just business.”

“What?” Louis said, looking at Cowell in shock. “What are you -- no.”

“You didn't know he was going to betray you?” Harry asked, a touch of cold and bitter humor in his tone. 

“Like you did?” Louis snapped. 

“And now we're playing!” Cowell clapped his hands together. “Such betrayal, such deceit, and underneath it all, such blatant stupidity. Like I said, the nepotism at MI6 must be excruciating for those who don't have parents who were agents, and well, their non-legacy BFFs. How any of you continue to save the world time and time again, I’ll never know. Though, I guess you won't be saving anything again, Agent Styles.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry said.

“I do believe I said something about keeping up,” Cowell rolled his eyes. “But this one time, I'll clear it up for you. Just so I can see your reaction, of course. You could have picked anyone. You could have had so many other choices of people to use to get intel, and you picked Louis. Maybe if you'd used your minds, those rotting things in your heads and not your,” he paused to look pointedly at Harry’s crotch, “you'd have picked someone who could actually have intel on what I was doing.”

It took Harry only a second to get it. Despite what Cowell was saying, Harry was actually pretty intelligent. He looked over at Louis, and felt a huge weight lift off his chest. Louis couldn't have given them intel because Louis didn't know. Louis wasn't involved. Louis was innocent. But then, Harry also realized, Louis now knew what Harry had done, who he was. 

Cowell smiled his predatory smile as Harry’s realization played on his face. “There it is. I knew you'd get there eventually.”

“Can someone please fucking explain it to me then?” Louis demanded, his tone only full of anger now. 

“Well,” Cowell looked at the detonator pointedly. Harry followed his gaze and saw there were 48 minutes left. “I suppose we have some time. And since no one will ever know my genius, I think I’d rather like to tell you. Not that it'll matter, since, like I said, you'll be dead.”

“Or I could just shoot you, and disable the bomb right now,” Harry said. He tried not to be too distracted by the fact that Louis was innocent. 

“About that,” Simon said, waving his hand. 

In seconds, Harry noticed a red dot on Louis’ chest and on his own. Damn it. If he'd had more time he could have cased the place, and maybe seen the snipers. But he'd been stupid and had rushed in. Still, he knew Liam and Jeff were out there, and while he couldn’t tell them outright what was happening, he knew they were watching. He just had to give them time to do whatever they were going to do. He really hoped part of that plan was saving him and Louis. 

“Now that my insurance policy is here,” Cowell grinned. “Agent Styles, if you'd kindly put down your gun and kick it over here.”

Harry debated with himself for a moment. He knew he was a good shot, and he knew he could get Cowell before the snipers took Louis and him out. However, the bomb would still be activated, and London would still blow up. He knew there was every chance he could overpower Cowell without his gun. The man was rather feeble for the Prime Minister, and well, for a terrorist. But even if he did, the snipers would still take him and Louis out. That was what made him do it. He slowly put his gun down and kicked it over. He had to trust Liam, and well, he trusted Liam with his life.

“Excellent, let's begin then, shall we?” Cowell said. “I know you're already aware that we've been testing our bombs across the globe, looking for just the right combination to unleash on London. But do you know where those bombs came from?”

“How the fuck would I know?” Harry rolled his eyes. This was good. He just had to keep him talking.

“You should, since it was someone at MI6 who first created it. Mr. Malik doesn't even know how rare his brain is, does he?”

“Wait, do you mean Zayn?” Louis demanded. Harry could see the hurt on his face. They had all lied to him and he was now finding out. “Zayn created a bomb for MI6?”

That didn't make sense. Zayn created this bomb? But then Harry remembered how weird Zayn had been acting, how he had been looking at bomb schematics the day he'd been kidnapped. He'd figured it out. Somehow, he had figured out Cowell had his bomb designs. That was why he was kidnapped. “You had him kidnapped, because he figured it out.” It wasn't a question. Harry couldn't help but feel a gush of pride in his chest for Zayn. He truly was a genius.

“Zayn’s been kidnapped?” Louis glared at Cowell. “You kidnapped my best friend?”

“He did figure it out, unfortunately,” Cowell said ignoring Louis. “And we couldn't have him let on, could we? That would ruin everything. After all, it took us so many tries to get it just right.”

“Jakarta, Buenos Aires, all those places, all those people, you were testing them,” Harry asked quietly.

“There's casualties in every war,” Cowell shrugged.

“You're sick,” Louis said.

“And what is the point of this war?” Harry asked. “Besides destroying London, I mean.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate that London had to go down, but we will rebuild,” Cowell said enthusiastically. “Which brings me to the next stage in my plan. Do you know where we are standing?”

They were standing in a carriage, obviously. With a bomb set to go off in 36 minutes. But Cowell wasn't asking him that. He was asking what the target was for this bomb, what was he trying to blow up. Harry thought quickly of all the things around Westminster Station, and what stood above the station. There were a lot of structures around there that would be rather important, but Harry had a sick feeling he knew exactly which one Cowell meant. While he didn't want to play any more of Cowell’s sick game, he knew Liam was listening and well, they needed to know. “You're going to blow up parliament.”

Louis gasped. “We’re under parliament?”

“Perhaps MI6 isn't completely brainless after all,” Cowell smirked. “Yes, Agent Styles, we are standing directly under the parliament building. But you're wrong about one thing. I'm not going to blow it up. Louis is.”

“You're going to blow up the British parliament and then pin it on me?” Louis said, dumbfounded. “How could you?”

“You're catching on, my boy,” Cowell said. “Well, MI6 will actually be placing the blame on your deceased person. Death by suicide, so unfortunate. See, they've been amassing a file on you for a while now, ever since your best friend pimped you out to Agent Styles. I have to say, it wasn't my initial plan, but since they were already looking at you, the opportunity was too good to pass. I should thank you for that, Agent Styles. You made it rather easy for me.”

Harry tensed. So he was responsible for this. He had sentenced Louis to die. They all had. “So what about you then? What will be your role in all of this?”

“Me?” Cowell smiled. “Why, I will be like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, saved miraculously, a true messiah leading London to a new age. The Cowellian age. It’ll be quite poetic.”

“No one is going to believe that,” Louis said.

But Harry already knew they would. Cowell was a master of manipulation and he would spin it in his favour. The people of the UK and the world were going to eat it up and hail him as a hero. 

That is, they would, if he didn't know Liam and Jeff were listening, and that this was all being recorded on the video feed Luke had accessed. He hadn't wanted to give it away, of course. If he did, there would be no reason to keep either of them alive. 

“They'll believe whatever I tell them to believe in the face of this tragic and horrific terrorist attack,” Cowell said. “And there it is, my friends. Now you know my plan thus far. I thank you for your sacrifices to our cause.” He picked up a pair of handcuffs from a seat by him and threw it at Harry. “It is about time I left for safety. So you'll need to tie yourself up. Rather securely, mind you.” He took another and walked over to Louis, gesturing to his hands. 

Louis did something Harry didn't quite expect. He punched Cowell in the face. “That's for Zayn,” Louis said coldly.

Cowell took only a second to recover, a smile on his face. “That'll add nicely to the story of how I tried to stop you,” Cowell said. “Now give me your hands before I have the snipers kill your precious agent.”

Louis looked over at Harry, his eyes darting to the red dot on his chest briefly before he gave his hands to Cowell, letting him tie them to a handrail. Harry sighed and tied himself up. He knew he didn't have a choice. The snipers would take out Louis if he didn't, and well, he couldn't let that happen. Because Harry loved Louis. He just had to trust Liam and Jeff with his life now.

“You're not going to get away with this,” Louis said. “You're forgetting the English government isn't just parliament. I for one am sorry I won't be around to see the Queen stop you.”

Cowell laughed maniacally. “The Queen? That old hag’s minutes are just as numbered as yours. I’ll admit, it'll be quite a blow when the monarchy falls, but I'll be there to comfort the people, don't worry. ”

He was going to kill the royal family. Fuck. Harry remembered how there had been multiple assassinations during the bombings in Belfast. Why hadn't he put it together before? The Belfast assassinations had been sniper attacks, and he had a feeling it would be the same here. After all, like Cowell said, all of that before had been a test run for this. “You're going to assassinate the royal family with snipers,” Harry said for Liam’s benefit. He needed Liam to hear the words, so maybe he could stop it.

“The ravens have left the Tower of London, after all,” Cowell said. “Thus, the monarchy will fall. I know, it's quite clever.”

“Actually, it’s lame and cliche,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Even if this monarchy falls, they will never crown you king, if that's what you're after.”

Cowell glared at him for a moment, before the easy and sinister smile returned to his face. “Maybe the kings of past were something to envy, but alas, today, I would not be content being just a figurehead, so no, that is not what I'm after.”

“Right, just a Phoenix rising from the ashes,” Harry repeated his words from before, the sarcasm evident in his tone.

“It'll be quite glorious,” Cowell nodded and clapped his hands together. “Well, gentlemen, I'm afraid our time has drawn to an end. I'd say until next time, but there won't be one.”

He walked out of the carriage, leaving Harry and Louis alone with the bomb. Harry’s eyes drifted to the timer. 29 minutes left. Okay, he could do this. He was trained for this. He just had to focus on his training. 

“We're about to die,” Louis said suddenly.

“No we're not,” Harry was focusing on how to get out of the handcuffs. Maybe he could displace his wrist. Why hadn't he grabbed Zayn’s handcuff opening device before he left? Stupid.

“We’re handcuffed to a carriage and there's a bomb, Harry,” Louis scoffed. “If that is your real name.”

Harry froze. He looked up at Louis now, and saw Louis’ eyes ablaze as he stared at Harry. “It is,” he said quietly.

“So you didn't lie about your name then,” Louis said coldly. “Just everything else.”

“No, not everything,” he said, his voice just as quiet. 

Louis tensed visibly, and Harry knew he understood what he meant. Harry hadn't lied when he said he loved Louis, but he also knew from Louis’ face that Louis didn't believe him. “How the hell are you going to get us out of here, super spy?” He changed the subject. 

Harry sighed, knowing that this wasn't the time to push their personal issues. There was a bomb after all. “I'm working on it.”

“Any chance you could work faster?” Louis asked. He paused before he continued to speak, “I can’t believe you thought I was a terrorist. What the fuck?” 

Harry ignored it, he didn’t even know how to properly address that. He needed to pick the lock on the handcuff, do this the old fashioned way. Unfortunately, he didn't have anything to pick it with, and he had a feeling that if he even did, the snipers would take them out. He looked at the red dot on Louis’ chest, but he didn't see it anymore. What? He looked down on his own chest, but there was no red dot there either. He knew that could only mean one thing. Liam. 

Okay, this was good. Now he just had to focus on getting them out of here. He decided his only option was dislocating his wrist. It was rather painful, but it wouldn't be the first time. He was just about to do it when the carriage door opened. “Liam,” he said gratefully when he saw who it was.

“Liam,” Louis said harshly, glaring at the man in the doorway. 

Liam winced visibly at Louis’ tone. “We don't have time,” he said, pulling out Zayn’s handcuff device. Thank God for Liam. Harry really didn't want to dislocate his wrist. Liam quickly let them out, eyeing the bomb. “Jeff has Cowell in custody right outside. We caught him when he was leaving.”

“And took out the snipers,” Harry said. “M, you heard about the Royal family?”

“I did,” Liam said. “I called in the girls, and Perrie just sent me confirmation that they were able to take the snipers out of the equation.”

“Perrie?” Louis gasped. “Even Perrie was part of your lies?”

Harry chose to ignore that. He saw the timer had 24 minutes left. They had some time at least. “We need to disable the bomb,” Harry said, thinking about Ed. Ed could have disabled this easily, but Ed was dead because of Cowell.

“The bomb squad is on the way,” Liam said. “But the city is in a panic. They hit Westminster Abbey while you were down here, and the squad was over at the Royal Mews disabling another one. Any roads to Westminster are locked down. I don't know if they'll make it on time.”

“So what do we do?” Louis asked. “Our entire government is right above us about to be blown to smithereens because you two imbeciles thought that I was trying to murder the entire city.”

Liam sighed heavily at the end of Louis’ sentence, but ignored it. “We can’t evacuate.”

“M, maybe that would be the best option?” Harry said. He heard Louis mutter under his breath, I bet that doesn’t even mean Magic Dick, is nothing sacred?

“There’s not enough time. Evacuation would cause too much of a panic, and if we can't stop this, they’re dead anyway.” 

Harry knew Liam was right, but it was hard to stomach that the fate of his government rested on them. Of course, as MI6, they did things that decided the fates of governments every day. He'd seen empires topple and regimes fall. Hell, he'd helped some of them along the way. He'd saved the British government before, but they had never let it get this close.

“Then, again, what the fuck do we do?” Louis said, raising his voice. 

Harry and Liam exchanged a look. Normally, the answer would be they'd turn to Zayn, but Zayn was still missing. “We’ll have to find a way to disable it,” Liam said. 

“Do you know how?” Louis sounded skeptic.

“My predecessor required all agents to take a basic bomb training course,” Liam said, eyeing the bomb. He was obviously thinking the same as Harry. That ‘basic bomb training course’ hadn't equipped them for this. There was a reason MI6 had a very advanced bomb squad.

“Your predecessor,” Louis repeated. “As head of MI6.”

“Yes,” Liam tensed. Louis just shook his head, but remained silent. 

“M,” Jeff’s voice came through the door. “We have a bit of a situation out here.”

“Of course we do,” Liam sighed and walked out of the carriage, Harry and Louis close behind him. Harry picked up his gun from where Cowell had left it, as well at the one that had originally been in the carriage. Harry wondered what the chances were of Louis listening if Harry told him to stay here until they knew the threat level, but this was Louis so he knew it wasn't very likely. Plus there was a bomb. 

Jeff was standing outside on the tracks, with Cowell imprisoned and kneeling in front of him. What unsettled Harry was the smirk that remained on Cowell’s face.

“Styles,” Jeff nodded at him, clearly relieved to see him relatively unscathed. 

“About time you did something useful, Azoff,” Harry joked.

“Yeah well, the CIA didn't send me here for nothing.”

“The CIA?” Louis glared at Harry. 

“Not now, Louis,” Liam said. He looked at Jeff. “What's wrong?”

“Luke just radioed in,” Jeff explained. “Thermal imaging indicated at least nine hostiles moving in from the tunnels.”

Harry looked at Cowell, now understanding the smirk. His back-up. Harry took a deep breath and positioned himself in front of Louis. 

“What are you doing?” Louis demanded.

“Just stay behind me,” Harry ordered. He couldn't let Louis get hurt. And he couldn't focus on taking down the threat if he was concerned about Louis. 

“I can take care of myself,” Louis rolled his eyes.

“Louis,” Harry said pleadingly. “Stay behind me.”

Louis looked at him for a long moment, as if he were reading something on Harry’s face, and then he nodded.

“Let the fun begin,” Cowell said as Harry spotted his people coming at them. 

He counted five, which meant there were at least four waiting to ambush them. He knew they couldn’t risk using guns, if one of the bullets hit the carriage, it was all over. From what Harry could tell, the bomb was connected to the whole carriage, and if it was hit, the bomb would go off. Which meant, on their side at least, this was going to be rough. He had to keep them away from the carriage, from Cowell, and most importantly, from Louis. Sure, this was going to be a piece of cake.

\---

They moved Cowell to behind the carriage to keep him out of view. He didn’t think Cowell’s men would shoot him, but they didn’t want to risk it. They needed him alive, even though Harry felt like he could kill Cowell with his own bare hands for what he did to Zayn, and Louis, and London. He knew it was probably best to put Louis there as well. He needed to stay focused on the mission, and getting them all out of here alive. He couldn't risk Louis being hurt. 

“Louis, please stand with Cowell,” Harry said pleadingly. Louis’ face darkened. 

“Oh, so first you spy on me for three months, thinking I'm a terrorist and cause me to be framed as said terrorist and then you want me to go hang out with my kidnapper slash terrorist like it's no big deal. Sure, that’s exactly what I want to do.”

“Please, Louis,” Harry pleaded again.

“Stop. Telling. Me. What. To. Do,” Louis said, punctuating each word.

“I just want to keep you safe,” Harry said softly. Louis glared at him at that.

“Louis,” Liam said in his M voice, cold and unyielding. Harry had been on the opposite side of that voice enough to know how intimidating it was. “Move behind the carriage unless you’d like your body to be riddled with holes. You have no weapon, and we need to focus on this without worrying about you being shot.”

Louis let out a huff, but he moved. Thank God.

With Louis out of the way, the three of them could move into position. Harry took the front and Jeff and Liam staggered out to the sides behind him. Harry had his gun in his hands and the one from the carriage in the back of his trousers. He didn’t have any extra ammunition, so hopefully he would be precise today. 

The men approached quickly. It looked like military precision at first glance, but Harry knew they were Sharp’s men, and were no more than thugs he had picked off the street. Harry could see the cracks in them as they moved closer. 

“Put down your weapons,” Liam called out to them. Harry tried not to roll his eyes. As if.

He thought he heard a snort from behind the carriage, but he didn’t know if it was Cowell mocking them or Louis. 

The man in the middle shot first and it whipped past Jeff to the far left. Jeff responded with two shots in a row, the first aimed at the man on the end, that hit him in the right arm, and the other at the man next to him, that went wide. The man he hit cursed loudly, but switched his gun to his other hand and kept creeping forward. 

Liam spoke quiet commands into the comms unit. “Harry, focus on the right. I’ll take the middle. Jeff, incapacitate the other on the left and then swing around the carriage to take up their rear.”

“Got it, boss,” Harry said quietly. 

Harry focused on the men assigned to him. They were both big and slow. He knew he could beat them in hand to hand combat, but guns brought a whole new game plan. He wished they weren’t fighting next to a semi nuclear bomb or else he’d go after them relentlessly, but this called for finesse. 

He shot off three bullets at the man on the far right to take out the flank first. All three hit. Harry couldn’t tell in the dark where, but he crumpled to the ground with a shout. He heard Liam shoot off a round at the man in the middle, but the man dodged it and shot out one of his own. Harry crouched and it went whizzing by where his head had just been.

After that the bullets started going like crazy. The other men had clearly come prepared for a fight, whereas they had not. They were all working with limited ammunition, but they were going to make it count. 

Jeff managed to drop the man on the far right and Harry saw Jeff then disappear from sight and he hoped he was making his way around the carriage. He couldn’t think on it too long or else he’d lose focus. He shot off a couple more times and saw the man second in on the middle crumple. 

He checked Liam’s progress and saw he had one on the ground unmoving and the other one was still standing, but he was looking around wildly realizing that all of his men were already down. 

The man let out a shout. 

“The other four are moving in,” Niall said through his earpiece, his voice cracking a bit because they were so far underground. 

Harry hoped Simon was shitting himself behind the carriage. He also wished he could turn and look at Louis, just to make sure he was okay, but he had to keep his eyes on the men moving in.

The one man left standing sent another shot off and rushed towards them as his men came in behind him, but Liam dodged it and shot him in the head. He fell at their feet and Harry heard Liam let out a shaky breath. 

“Four more,” Liam said quietly. “Are you in position, Jeff?”

“I’ve got eyes on the targets,” Jeff said through the earpiece.

“Two on the end, clean, please,” Liam said to Jeff. He motioned to Harry with his hand that Liam would go left and Harry should go right.

A shot rang out towards them before they could properly see the men in the dark tunnel. It went high and pinged off the ceiling before clattering onto the ground. Harry squinted in the dark but he couldn’t see them yet. He could hear their feet moving on the gravel, loud and clumsy.

He saw them at the same time as Liam. He could tell because they both moved into a stance at the same time. Four beefy guys with their arms extended with the guns in their hands moving towards them in a solid line. Amateurs. 

“Now,” Liam said under his breath. 

Harry squeezed the trigger at the same time as Liam and their shots rang out in unison. They both hit and the men fell one right after another. The other two men tensed and looked quickly to those who fell. That was their mistake.

They were standing about even to where Jeff was crouched behind the carriage. Harry couldn’t see him in the dark, but Harry knew he would have stood up before shooting, his body square to his marks, and his face concentrated. 

They both toppled a second later. 

Harry moved quickly towards them all to kick their guns away. He checked the pulses of those closest to him and they were all nonexistent. His fingers came back bloody from the last corpse and he wiped it on his trousers.

“Status?” Liam asked.

“Nine dead,” Harry said.

“Good work,” Liam said.

“Good work?” Harry heard Louis call out. He turned around and saw him facing them, standing at the end of the carriage. “Good work? You just murdered nine people!”

“You’d be dead, if we hadn't,” Jeff said, shrugging.

“Like that’s even an excuse,” Louis said flippantly. 

Jeff looked like he wanted to continue to protest, but Harry just shook his head at him. It wasn’t worth it. Louis was going to be mad at them no matter what they said.

“Is Cowell fine?” Liam asked. He waited a moment for Louis to answer, but he didn’t. Instead, he let out a sniff and looked away from them all. Liam sighed heavily and walked to the back of the carriage where they had stashed Cowell.

Louis moved a little closer to Harry and Jeff, albeit a slightly reluctantly.

“Do any of these men look familiar?” Jeff asked him. 

“They all look the same,” Louis said.

“It’s important,” Harry said to him. “We need to prove they were working for him rather than just some random thugs in the tube during a national crisis.”

Louis rolled his eyes, but he moved a little closer to squint at them in the dark. Jeff, ever so helpful, pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight. Louis took a moment to look them all over. 

“Those two,” Louis said pointing to the two that Jeff shot last. He turned away quickly and looked like he might hurl. “They worked in his security detail. Recent hires.”

Jeff nodded sharply and started to talk quietly to Niall through the comms. Harry softly said, “Thanks,” but Louis ignored it.

He heard Jeff start speaking again, but Harry hadn’t heard Niall reply through his earpiece. Harry looked over at Jeff quizzically, but he was looking back at Harry with his eyebrows knitted tightly together.

Harry was about to shout to Liam when he heard footsteps fast approaching from the direction of the platform. Louis turned first, Harry knew because he hadn’t even properly taken in the person when Louis was speaking.

“Ann Marie?” 

“You’re ruining everything!” She shouted. It was too dark in the tunnel. It made them all slow. It made surprises hard to react to. 

She got off one shot before they could say anything, and Harry felt it before he saw it. A sharp pain ran through his arm as he stumbled back from the force of the bullet. Before he could react, Liam shot at her, straight at her chest, but Harry didn't see her fall over. 

He was still stumbling. His body was trying to right itself, his legs were trying to sort out the shift of balance, and he almost had it straight, but he tripped over one of Cowell’s men. As he fell, music started to fill the silence, loud and echoing in the tunnel. 

“This is the end, hold your breath and count to ten.”

Was he dying? It would be incredibly appropriate for Adele to sing to him as he left this life. He wouldn’t even complain too hard about it. Maybe they'd put it on his tombstone. Here lies Harry. He died to Adele’s voice so at least there’s that. He hardly noticed when he landed on top of the man he tripped over, his body falling limp over it.

“Feel the earth move and then hear my heart burst again.” 

His arm didn’t even hurt that much anymore, even though he could feel the wetness of the blood seeping through his shirt.

“Harry?”

Harry opened his eyes. He didn’t even realize they were closed. Louis and Liam were leaning over him looking concerned. He blinked heavily a few times.

Adele was still singing. “Let the sky fall when it crumbles, we will stand tall face it all together.”

“Are you okay?” Liam asked.

“I think your phone is ringing,” Louis added.

“I didn’t die?” Harry asked.

Louis snorted, but Harry could see he looked rattled. “It’s just a graze, you loser.”

Harry reached over and touched his arm with his other hand and his fingers came back soaked in blood. He raised and eyebrow at Louis, who in turned glared back at him. Adele faded off as his phone stopped ringing. 

“If you die right now, don’t think I won’t shoot you,” Liam threatened him. Liam leaned over and helped Harry sit up. His head felt a little woozy and he didn’t know if it was from the bullet wound or the fall. He saw Jeff standing watch by Cowell and the unmoving Ann Marie. 

His phone started to ring again. He could tell now that the sound was coming from his pocket. So apparently Adele hadn't come to sing his way to Heaven, or maybe Hell. How disappointing. 

“Are you going to answer that?” Louis asked.

He nodded slowly and pulled it out awkwardly with his left hand. It was Gemma. He swallowed hard, but answered it anyway.

“Hi, Gems,” he said quietly, attempting to minimize the echo in the tunnel. Liam pulled his phone from his pocket where it was buzzing and walked away. Harry watched him leave and wished, a little, he hadn’t been left alone with Louis. 

“Harry!” She practically shouted. “Have you seen the news? Are you safe? You didn’t call! Mum was going insane. We've been trying to reach you all day but all the lines have been busy!”

He bit his lip. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “It’s been crazy. But I’m fine.” If he ignored the bullet wound in his arm and the fact that he was sitting next to a dead body and ten feet from a massive bomb, that statement was mostly true.

“Mum wants you to come home.” He heard Louis snort and he looked up to see that he hadn’t turned away when Harry answered the phone like Liam had. He had been listening to Harry’s conversation with his sister, probably thinking about how many more lies Harry told him.

“I can’t leave the city, it’s locked down,” he said thickly. That much was true. “It’s fine, I’m safe.”

“Harry--” She started to speak, but he cut her off.

“I’ll call you later okay, I’ve got to go,” he said quickly and hung up on her. He couldn’t face the look Louis was giving him, so he pulled himself up off the ground and dusted off his bum with his one good arm. He was doing his best to ignore the pain in his arm from the wound, but it stung like a bitch. 

“Not close to your family in California, huh?” Louis sniped as Harry walked by him. Harry let that one roll off his shoulder. He deserved it and he knew it.

Harry opened his mouth, but he wasn’t sure what to say, other than an apology. It would be too long to explain. How could he possibly tell him he kept his family secret so they wouldn't be used against him? How could he possibly begin to explain the sacrifices he had to make in this life? But he was sure now was not the time for it. They still had a bomb to diffuse and they were running out of time.

Liam came rushing over towards them with an actual smile on his face. Which, okay, it offended Harry a little. Harry had just been shot. He looked now that he wasn't dying at Ann Marie’s lifeless body a few feet away from them. Well, at least Liam was also willing to shoot other people for him, not just threaten to shoot him. But still, what was Liam smiling at? Someone had still freaking shot him!

“That was Niall,” he said gesturing to the phone, which Harry could see was still connected to the call. “He apologized for letting you get shot, but they were a little distracted. They’ve got Zayn back. He’s at the lab.”

 

\---

Harry was relieved. Zayn was okay. He was actually okay. Okay, so he'd spent the last minute yelling at them over the phone for not rescuing him, but Harry had never been so happy to be yelled at. It made getting shot worth it, almost. 

“You guys are the worst,” Zayn continued on the same tirade he'd started a minute ago. “You didn't even come save me. What the fuck?”

“We're very sorry,” Liam said to the phone. “And we're very glad you're back. However, can we continue this later? We kind of have a bomb problem at the moment.”

“And we will talk about it, Quantum Asshole,” Louis said.

“What happened?” Harry asked.

“Fucking Michael,” Zayn answered. 

“What?” Harry gasped. “Michael?”

“He's the mole,” Zayn said. Harry was flabbergasted. They'd never even suspected. He could hear the hurt in Zayn’s voice, and he understood. Zayn had handpicked every lair lackey when he had been appointed as Q. He trusted them inexplicably. And Michael had used that trust against them all. It explained how Cowell had gotten plans to a bomb Zayn had designed. All the lives that had been lost, because of Michael. 

“I'll explain all of that later,” Zayn continued. “Right now, I really need to talk you through disabling the bomb.”

“Okay, I’m heading into the carriage now, you can walk me through it,” Liam said. 

“There's more hostiles headed your way,” Niall’s voice came through the phone.

“You didn't think I'd only have one wave of security, did you?” Cowell gloated. He was still sitting outside on the tracks, his suit finally a little wrinkled and he had a wild look on his face. He finally looked like the monster who did all of this. 

Jeff punched him, which made Liam’s eyes bulge. “What? I'm CIA, that's how we handle terrorists.”

Liam cursed and looked at Harry’s wound for a second. He seemed to be deciding what to do, and Harry knew what he was going to say the second he opened his mouth. “Haz, Zayn’s going to talk you through disabling the bomb.” He handed him the phone. “We’ll hold them off.”

Harry nodded. He wouldn't be able to be much help out here with his injured arm anyway. “Louis, you need to come with me.”

He needed to keep Louis safe, and while the options were keeping him out here with unknown hostiles or taking him in there with a bomb, Harry knew he wanted to keep Louis close. He had to. Louis surprisingly didn't argue as he followed Harry into the carriage.

“Q?” Harry said as they knelt by the detonator, ignoring the pain in his arm. There were four minutes left in the timer. “I'm by the detonator.”

“There should be a physical control panel somewhere that's connected to the detonator and the carriage. It'll be the physical bomb.”

Harry nodded to himself, put the phone down next to Louis and started looking under the seats. Louis seemed to realize what he was doing, and started checking the other side. There was nothing.

“Did you see anything when he brought you down here?” Harry asked. 

“I think we established I was a poor choice to use, Harold,” Louis rolled his eyes, “because I don't know anything.”

“No, I know you don't know anything about the attacks,” Harry winced at his tone. He deserved that. “But when you came down, did he pay attention to any specific spot? Maybe look at a particular chair? Or place?”

“You mean besides the detonator and gun?” Louis snapped.

“Louis, please think,” Harry said pleadingly. “There may have been something you didn't think was important, but he did.”

Louis sighed and took a moment to think about it before his eyes drifted down to the floor. Harry followed his gaze and saw a panel on the ground. He quickly went to it, pulling it gently with his good arm. “He walked around it,” Louis told him. “He made us walk around it before we sat down over there.”

“Good, thank you,” Harry smiled at him briefly before looking back at the bomb. It looked fairly similar to the one he'd brought back from Belfast and the one they'd disabled at the Summit. “Q? You still there? I found it.”

“Okay, if they followed my design exactly, there should a panel on front. You'll need to remove it,” Zayn told him.

Harry tried to pull it off, but he couldn't get it off with one hand. He tensed, knowing there was only one option left open to him. “Louis? You're going to have to remove this panel.”

“What?” Both Zayn and Louis demanded simultaneously.

“I can't do it with one arm,” Harry told him. “It’s okay, I trust you.”

And he did. He truly and deeply did. It had seemed so stupid now, thinking it was all Louis. Of course, that had been Cowell’s plan, because of Harry, because of Harry’s investigation into Louis. But he knew Louis. He loved him. Louis could do this.

\---

Louis took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. He understood what Harry was saying. He trusted him. But could Louis trust Harry now? And Zayn? Zayn had been his best friend since uni. And now, Louis realized, he didn't even know him. He worked for MI6. He'd lied to Louis this whole time. They'd all lied to him this whole time. God, he loved Harry. He'd fallen in love with him, and now he found out that Harry had been on a mission the whole time. But that was a conversation for later. Right now, there was a bomb in front of them. Could he do this? He wasn't sure, but Harry seemed to believe in him, and while that shouldn't have mattered right now because Harry was a secret agent and didn't work in IT, it still did to Louis. Because he still loved Harry, damn it. 

“Okay,” he said and reached down to pull off the panel slowly. There were multiple wires now on display. How cliche was this? “What do I do, Zayn?”

“Louis,” Zayn sighed.

“What do I do, Quantum Asshole?” Louis repeated. He didn't have time to deal with Zayn’s overprotectiveness right now, especially when he was still so angry. Quantum Asshole, really? “Don't think we aren't going to talk about that some more later. Right now, I'm looking at a bomb that's going to blow in two and a half minutes. So what do I do?”

“There should be a blue wire,” Zayn said after a short pause. “You need to cut it.”

“Okay, with what?” He looked around for something to use, but the carriage was empty. He looked at Harry. “You have anything, super spy?”

Harry pulled out a Swiss Army Knife and handed it to Louis. “Use this.”

Louis couldn't help but roll his eyes. Of course he had something, and a Swiss Army knife at that. Ever the secret agent, Louis supposed. He pulled out the small scissors on it and looked through the wires for the blue one. Once he had it in hand, he paused. “You're sure it's the blue one, Z?”

“I'm sure,” Zayn repeated. He wondered only for a second if he still trusted Zayn. The long answer was a list of times that Zayn had had Louis’ back, of times when they'd spent the night just cuddling and watching Bake Off and laughing at Graham Norton. The short answer was yes. He definitely still trusted Zayn with his life. He was angry as hell, but he trusted him.

Louis cut the wire. It was only when he saw the timer had stopped at 47 seconds that he sighed in relief. “Lou?” Zayn’s voice had a slight panic to it. “Everything okay? Did it stop?”

“You don't sound so confident for a person who was sure it was the blue wire,” Louis said, a small smirk on his face.

They heard Zayn let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah well, you can't always be sure about these things. I'm glad you're okay. We’ll see you at HQ, H.” He hung up.

Louis wanted to laugh. He wanted to jump up and hug Harry and kiss him and tell him how much he loved him. But he couldn't. Because Harry had lied. Harry had entered his life like a blazing sun, changing it forever, and it had all been a lie. He looked at Harry now, and saw Harry was looking right back at him, seeming to be thinking the same thing. There was a space between them, a dark and heavy space, and it kept Louis from jumping Harry and kissing him. 

“Louis,” Harry started.

“Is it done?” Liam staggered in, cutting Harry off. He had a nasty cut on the side of his face, and a lot of blood over his clothes, but he looked otherwise unscathed. 

“It's done,” Harry told Liam, his eyes still on Louis. 

Louis had to look away.

“The bomb squad is five minutes out. They will be able to retrieve it and bring it back to HQ for processing,” Liam said. He looked at Harry’s wound. “After they arrive, we can head out. Maybe you should head to the hospital first, Haz.”

“What about Louis?” Harry asked the question that was at the tip of Louis’ tongue, ignoring Liam’s statement about the hospital.

Liam answered without so much as a pause. “He's coming in too.”

“To your IT headquarters?” Louis scoffed. 

Both Liam and Harry outwardly cringed. Good. They should feel bad. They'd lied to him. He had been so focused on everything that was happening, the bombs, Cowell, Harry killing people, the betrayal, that he hadn't even had time to be properly mad, not like he should be. And he was pissed. They'd lied to him. Harry had used him. The depth of the deception ran so deep, Louis wasn't sure he'd ever be able to climb out. Zayn and Niall. How could Niall do this to him?

“To MI6,” Liam said finally.

“Well, at least you're finally telling the truth,” Louis glared. 

“The hospital, Haz?” Liam asked again, choosing to ignore that. “You can meet us at HQ after you get it checked out.”

“I'm fine, it was just a graze,” Harry said, his tone clipped. Louis looked over at him, noting the determination on his face. It made Louis roll his eyes. Of course, he'd be stubborn about this.

Harry had been shot. And okay, so Louis hated him right now, but he annoyingly still loved him, no matter how much he didn't want to. And he'd been shot. “You should get it checked out,” Louis said quietly, because he still cared. Of course he still cared, and he hated it. Because Harry had used him. 

“I'm fine,” Harry snapped, but immediately regretted that and tried again, his tone a lot calmer. “I'm, I’m good. I want to go to HQ with you.”

Liam stared at him for a moment longer, before nodding. Louis didn't respond to that. He didn't even know what to say. 

They grew quiet. Harry was fidgeting next to him, and Louis wanted to punch him. Okay, so they were standing next to a bomb, albeit a disabled bomb, and Harry had just been shot, but he was a secret agent! Honestly, shouldn’t he be a cool and collected super spy? They stood there until they heard footsteps echoing through the tunnels. Liam got confirmation it was the bomb squad, and they stepped out to meet them. At least there weren't more lying faces in that crowd. Louis couldn't handle any more.

Once they were sure the explosives were in safe hands, Liam led all of them back to the platform and out of Westminster Station. Louis took a moment to appreciate how in command Liam was. He wouldn't have pictured it before, but now he could see how Liam of all people would be in charge of a secret intelligence agency. 

Louis’ eyes burned in the light when they reached the surface. He had forgotten it was the middle of the day, barely even noon, and for once, London was sunny. It felt like he'd been down there for hours, days even. But they'd only gone down there around 10 o’clock amidst the chaos from the bombs. It was quiet now. The bombs had stopped rattling the city and the streets were empty as the city was still on lockdown. He'd never seen London like this. It was slightly eerie. It didn't seem appropriate that the sun was shining this brightly after what had to be one of London’s darkest days. It was as if the universe didn't know how deeply London was grieving at this moment. 

He watched Cowell be carted into an armored car and he’d never seen anything so surreal before in his life. His boss just destroyed London. Louis didn’t think he would ever be able to wrap his head around that. 

Liam ushered them over to a large black van, and they all climbed in, silent as they drove through the ghost town London had become. Louis could feel Harry staring at him, but Louis pointedly just stared out of the window as they drove. He didn't want to talk to Harry, or to any of them. The truth was that yeah, Louis was angry, but underneath it all, he was hurt. It was a large weight on his chest as he started thinking about the last few months, trying to sift through all those moments with Harry, the soft touches, the lingering kisses, the thoughts of a future with Harry and a bunch of their little kids running about. It hadn't been real. Everything he thought he knew, everything he had hoped for and dreamed of, none of it was real. He didn't even know who Harry really was, he realized. Who the hell had he fallen in love with?

Harry seemed to know where his thoughts were, and that pissed Louis off. Because Louis had been stupid. He'd been naive, and he'd given Harry everything, every piece of him. So when Harry whispered, “It was real to me,” Louis closed his eyes and ignored him.

\---

Harry’s arm was bleeding quite a lot still, but he had ripped a bit of his shirt and wrapped it around the wound to help keep pressure on it, so he figured he would be fine. He’d definitely been shot worse before. Louis was right, it really was just a graze, and he didn't want Louis to go to HQ without him. He’d completed whole missions with worse injuries, but this felt like more than a mission. Louis was going to the MI6 HQ. He was going to see all of Harry’s world. He couldn't be bothered by something as trivial as a bullet graze to miss that.

When they arrived to HQ, there was a lot of buzz and activity. The car carrying Cowell pulled in right behind them and the four of them were able to slip through with very little fanfare. Louis looked a little terrified by all of the armored guards and the high security checkpoint, but Louis surprised Harry as he took it all in stride. Liam led them towards the lift so they could go down to the subbasement and Jeff left them there, going upstairs to report in to his superiors, clapping Liam on the back with a smile and a testament to finally being done with it all before he went. Harry liked Jeff, as much as one could like a spy from another country, but he couldn't say he'd be sad to see the CIA agent go. With his departure, it meant they were finally done. They'd stopped the bad guys. 

Harry, Liam, and Louis stood awkwardly in the lift as it descended to the lair. Harry wanted to hum just to cut the silence, but he was afraid of Liam’s gun and of Louis elbowing him in the stomach. 

When the doors opened in the lab, he had kind of expected Louis to gasp. The lab really was something incredible, and it wouldn't be the first time a newcomer was taken back by the genius of it all. There was a lot of state of the art technology in that room and to Harry, it was like what he imagined the inside of Zayn’s brain must look like. But Louis surprised him again and didn’t gasp. He scoffed.

This was going to be a disaster.

Zayn and Niall walked out of Zayn’s office when they stepped out of the lift. Harry was pretty sure they had been smooching from the disheveled look of Zayn’s hair and Niall’s swollen lips, but he couldn’t really blame them. Zayn had been kidnapped for five days and they hadn’t even saved him. Thankfully, he was a crafty son of a bitch and found his own way out.

“Zayn,” Liam said and breathed out a sigh of relief. Talking to him on the phone was one thing, but seeing him alive and well was another.

Harry wasn’t at all embarrassed by how quickly he and Liam rushed over to wrap him in a big group hug. His boys were safe, that was all that mattered. Niall jumped on his back and they stumbled into Liam, but he held onto the three of them just the same. Harry felt so relieved that they were all here in one piece.

“Oi,” Zayn called towards Louis. “You can be mad later, just come celebrate that we are alive and none of us are terrorists for a minute. Which, told you so.” Zayn sent a superior look and a smirk towards Liam and Harry.

Harry peeked over his shoulder and saw Louis sigh, but he uncrossed his arms and walked slowly over to them. He squeezed in between Zayn and Niall, avoiding touching Harry, which, to be honest, hurt him a bit. But he let it go. At least Louis was participating.

“I’m happy you’re not dead,” Louis murmured to Zayn. “Even if you’re all a bunch of lying wankers.”

They all stayed like that for a moment. Louis broke away first and then they all let go one by one. Harry felt a little woozy when the pressure of Niall’s arm left his own, but he took a deep breath and let it go. He took a few more deep breaths until the feeling went away. 

Zayn ushered them all towards the large computer against the wall and Harry could see he had pulled up a lot different documents on it. One of them was the encrypted file they had found on Louis.

“So what happened?” Liam asked. 

“Got kidnapped, didn’t I?” Zayn said, turning to the computer. “Thanks for not coming to save me, by the way, you wankers.”

“You're welcome,” Niall smirked, back to normal now that Zayn was back, which Harry had missed terribly. 

“We noticed,” Harry said flatly. “But how?”

“Couple of big guys jumped me and threw me in a van. To be fair,” he said, “it was probably not the worst situation, actually. I don’t think they intended to hurt me, just to keep me out of the way for a bit.”

“You said you thought the mole was Michael?” Liam asked.

“I don't think. I know the mole is Michael. While you were disabling the bomb we had the girls take him into custody. I found this,” he said, gesturing to the screen. Zayn played the first audio clip of Louis calling Niall, that Luke had originally showed them yesterday in Liam’s office, on the screen. Harry had seen this before, but this was the first time Louis would be confronted with the kind of surveillance they had done on him. Harry winced at how thorough they had been and Louis was about to know how deep his deception had ran. 

They listened as Louis made the call on the burner phone to Niall. Louis actually did gasp this time. The screen was also filled with the file on Boring and his mugshots from Buenos Aires. 

“How did you get this?” Louis asked, looking around at them all nervously.

“You called Niall,” Harry was the one who answered him. He hoped he could do this, talk to Louis about what they found and how he did it. Because he owed it to him. Even if Louis never forgave him, he owed him the truth. “The number on the burner you were given calls Niall. I arrested Boring in Buenos Aires after he blew up one of their government buildings. That's why Niall told you he was being held in Argentina.”

“How long have you been stalking me? Why me?” Louis was glaring at Harry, his eyes burning. 

“I’m sorry, Louis,” Zayn said. Louis whipped his head to look at his best friend, the betrayal evident in his eyes. “It was my fault. From what you said to me, and then to Niall on the burner, we had reason to believe Cowell was into something shady. We just didn't know what, and we definitely didn't think it was this.”

“It started the day we met, at the pub,” Harry said softly. “I bugged your phone when I put my number in it.”

Louis’ eyes flashed at that as comprehension dawned on his face. “Of course you're the one who bugged my phone. I shouldn’t be surprised by any of this anymore. You comforted me when that happened. I suppose that was fake too? How did you really get in my flat? Let me guess, you just happen to carry a lock pick kit or what, you snuck in through the fire escape?”

“I really did use Zayn’s key,” Harry swallowed hard, pointedly not feeling for the lock pick kit he had started keeping in his pocket at all times after the lunch with Gemma incident. “Can we argue about this later? You can call me a liar for the next three hours, but this is kind of important.”

Louis let out a loud huff and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll be lucky if I argue with you again.”

But he was blissfully quiet after that. Zayn didn’t go through any more of the slides, probably to prevent any more outbursts from Louis. They didn't call Zayn a genius for nothing.

“I found this encrypted file on the backup drives while you guys were at the convention center. I didn’t think it was anything sketchy actually, I was just hacking into it for something to do while I waited for you guys to need me. I didn’t expect to find what I did. Once I’d seen what the file was, I had to do a lot of digging to see where it originated.”

“Michael,” Niall said. It was no longer a question. Harry could hardly believe it. Michael had been in MI6 as long as Harry. His dad had served with Liam’s dad. His dad, Agent Clifford, had died for his country and Michael had betrayed it. How far the apple had fallen. 

“It didn’t mean anything though, really, this whole file. You had all been so sure Louis was involved, it could have just been something that Liam wanted him to make to get our facts straight and didn't want me to know about.”

Harry could feel Louis glaring at him, but he ignored it. 

“Except when we had our meeting preparing for the convention center, Jeff said something that got me thinking. He mentioned that the CIA had found trace amounts of uranium on the bombs. I hadn’t seen that and truthfully I hadn’t been looking for it because it's not generally used in these kinds of bombs. I designed a bomb with uranium a few years back, trying to find possible benefits of using the material to break through heavily armored barriers. It was more a training exercise than anything else, but after the meeting, I started checking into the compositions of all the earlier designs and the one we salvaged from Belfast was almost an exact match to the bomb I drew up.”

“Michael was giving them your schematics?” Liam asked.

“I couldn’t prove it was Michael. I didn't even think it was Michael. There was no way to look through all of the data all of the boys had accessed over the last several months, and I didn't really think it was any of the boys anyway. But when I saw the video compilation of Louis, well, it just seemed too neat. Every single mention of Cowell was gone. I didn't know it was going to be used to pin the whole terrorist ring on Louis, but it made me suspicious.”

“This is why we need Zayn,” Harry grumbled. “We stared at the exact same information and we couldn’t puzzle it together.”

“Apparently, I’m not as smart as I claim to be, because I made the stupid mistake of confiding in Michael about it. He denied knowing anything, but I was kidnapped a few hours later.”

“I'm blaming that damn training mine exercise at the retreat,” Niall said, glaring at Liam. “We did say Zayn wasn't a field agent, but you just had to get it in his mind that he should confront the mine head on.”

“I’ll take responsibility for Zayn’s kidnapping,” Liam started, “but not because I made him go for a jog. And it helped us become a team.”

“The team had a mole, Liam,” Harry said. “Clearly it didn't help much.”

“Well, that's not my fault,” Liam glared at him. “Also, don't make me shoot you in the other arm, Styles.”

“Hang on,” Louis spoke up. He’d been quiet the whole time, his eyes trained on the various documents on the screen, all of which pinpointed how much they had betrayed him. He was looking at Zayn now. “You said these wankers didn't come save you. So how'd you get away?”

Zayn smirked. “They left Michael to guard me this morning. I punched him.”

Harry couldn't believe it. Zayn never got his hands dirty. He built gadgets for that, and even then he didn't really use them himself. He couldn't help it, he laughed. 

“Clearly the training exercises did something for you. I told you there may come a time when you were in the field,” Liam said smugly with a pointed look at Niall, though he too looked like he was about to laugh any minute. “So, Michael then.”

“Yeah, Michael,” Zayn looked disappointed, and Harry didn't blame him. He knew Zayn was taking this betrayal personally.

“Also, shut up, Liam,” Niall added, putting a hand on Zayn’s waist to comfort him.

“Why'd Michael do it, anyway?” Harry asked. 

“Because of you,” Zayn said. Harry looked confused, but then he realized Zayn was looking at Liam. Harry really needed to stop thinking everyone was automatically talking to him. It caused a lot of confusion on his part. “He told me this morning before I escaped. Your dad was supposed to go on the mission his dad was killed on, but he didn't, because of you, and Agent Clifford was killed. That's apparently the reason he joined MI6 in the first place. He hated the agency for what it did to his family. Apparently Liam’s promotion to M was the tipping point for him.”

Liam looked devastated at that, but it pissed Harry off. As an agent, Harry had sacrificed his whole life for this agency. He kept his family at arm’s length. He didn't really have many friends outside of the agency. He had lied to Louis. But what he did, what they did, it was important. They all knew there was every chance that each mission might be their last, but it was worth it. Because he knew what he did kept his family safe, kept the country and the world safe, kept Louis safe. Agent Clifford had died a hero, saving countless lives, making the world a better place for his son. And Michael had betrayed that. He was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, something his father never, never would have stood for. 

“It's not your fault, Liam,” Niall said quietly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. 

“I know,” Liam said after a moment. “I just wish I’d seen what he was going through. Maybe we could have helped him.”

“I don't think you could have,” Zayn said. “He didn't want help.” Liam nodded at that, but let it go. “Anyways, so I got out of there while he was knocked out, got back to the lab and Niall sent the girls to pick him up. He was just coming to when they got there.”

“Well, at least that's over,” Liam said. “I’m glad you're back, Q.”

“So, now that we’ve gone over how all of you have been idiots for the last several months, should we get into the various ways in which you violated my privacy?” Louis asked snidely after a few more minutes.

Harry took a deep breath, this was going to be rough. The others looked pained as well.

He braced himself for what was coming, but the doors to the lift opened, and Jesy came out. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Louis shouted. 

Harry winced, feeling woozy again.

\--- 

“Jesy?” Louis turned on Harry, as if this was Harry’s fault too. “Seriously? Is nothing sacred? First Niall, and now Jesy. Are there any aspects of my life that are actually true and not some clever ploy for you to stalk me? What about my mum? Was she feeding you weekly updates on my dietary habits?”

“Of course not,” Harry said quickly.

“We have your credit card statements anyway,” Niall added, rather unhelpfully. “We know where you buy food from.”

Louis was going to punch Harry. He really, really was.

“Hi, Louis,” Jesy smiled brightly, because of course she did. 

“Don't ‘hi Louis’ me,” Louis glared at her. He couldn't believe this. “How could you do this to me, Jesy Nelson? You brought me tea and biscuits! Were they just more lies? Did you feed me betrayal biscuits?”

Jesy winced at that. “I'm sorry, Louis--,” she started.

But he cut her off when he rounded on Niall. Of all people, Niall Horan had betrayed him like this! “And you. Niall Horan, I expected better from you. How could you do this me? We’re supposed to be friends! We're supposed to be partners!”

“Technically, Zayn and I are part--.”

“Partners,” Louis repeated again, cutting him off. “How many times did we pull pranks on Z when he was studying? And our movie nights! I just can't believe this. Super spy, I can understand,” he gestured at Harry, “he's a twat, and Zayn has always been shady as fuck, and Liam, well, I didn't know Liam before, but you. I thought we had a bromance going on! I thought we were tight. How could you?”

“I wanted to tell you, Louis, but I couldn't!” Niall looked like he was going to cry, which, okay, made Louis feel a little bad, because this was Niall and seeing Niall sad always made him sad, but he was still angry. “Liam made me! I didn't want to, but he made me!”

Liam sputtered at that, glaring at Niall. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Jesy spoke up as well, “Me too, Louis. Liam made me! We were just following orders, really, his orders!”

“I'm going to fire you all,” Liam mumbled. “I'm going to fire you and then rehire you again to do paperwork for the rest of your lives.”

“I already do paperwork,” Niall pointed out. “But the lies were all Liam, Louis!”

Liam punched Niall in the shoulder. Niall scurried away from him to hide behind Zayn. 

Louis deliberated this for a moment. As a working man, he knew how it was. When your boss told you to do something, you did it. Lord knows he did a lot of things because Ann Marie told him too. He still couldn't believe she was dead. Or that she was a terrorist. Actually, no, that he wasn't having as much trouble believing.

“Okay, fine, I forgive you,” he told Niall and Jesy. Jesy beamed while Niall whooped and grabbed him, giving him a tight hug and a kiss on the head. “Okay, okay, get off me, you Irish oaf, I can't breathe!”

“Liam made me too!” Harry said. Both Louis and Liam glared at him. 

“Liam made you play me?” he demanded, rolling his eyes. Yeah, he was definitely going to punch Harry. “That's not going to work for you.”

“Though, I am going to shoot you, and then make you do paperwork for the rest of your life for throwing me under the bus,” Liam grumbled. He turned to Louis. “Look, mate, it wasn't personal. I have an entire country to keep safe. If there was any chance you or your boss were a risk to that country, I had to stop you. And to be fair, I really sent them in to get to Cowell through you. You were our only opening in, and well, if he was up to something evil, which he was, I had to risk it, for London. And for the world, Louis.”

Louis nodded, understanding that. He didn't really know what MI6 did, but that was the point of MI6, wasn't it? They kept the country safe from the shadows. If they were good, you'd never know they had saved your life. And Liam was the head of that. It made Liam just a little bit scarier. But then he remembered Liam’s Iron Man suit from Comic Con, and decided he could just make Liam wear that and push him over. He would be on the ground for a while. That made him feel better. “Okay, fine,” Louis said. He opened his arms so Liam could have a forgiveness hug as well. 

Harry looked affronted at that, but Louis ignored him and looked at Zayn pointedly. “And you. We are supposed to be best friends. We've been best friends for how long, and this whole fucking time told me you were helping old ladies with their fucking toaster ovens and their VCRs, and instead, you were down here in your little lair, creating weaponry.”

“It's not a lair,” Zayn rolled his eyes, “and I never said I helped old ladies with their toaster ovens. You don't even call IT for help with toaster ovens. Also, I don't think anyone uses VCRs anymore.”

“Well, you're not IT like you said,” Louis glared at him. Honestly, now was not the time for semantics.

“Well, technically I am,” Zayn shrugged. “I deal with tech.”

“Don't you even fucking start with me, Zayn Malik, you Quantum Asshole,” Louis said. “You lied to me.”

“I should get a free pass,” Zayn looked unbothered. “I didn't even do anything. They all lied to me.”

“But you lied to me!” Louis said indignantly.

“Yeah, well I should still get a free pass,” Zayn said. “Because I remember the time in uni after you went out with that Daniel guy, and came home with that pot of--.”

“Okay!” Louis quickly covered Zayn’s mouth with his hand. No one needed to know that story, ever. Damn their long and beautiful friendship. “You're forgiven, completely forgiven!”

Zayn smirked and smacked Louis’ hand away, which made Louis have to retaliate by messing with his hair, which made Zayn pounce on him, and well, when they were both on the floor wrestling seconds later, nobody could have really been surprised.

“Hey!” Harry looked paler now as Zayn got up and held a hand out to hoist Louis up as well. “That's so not fair, I remember things too! Like the time we went to that sex store, and you wanted that purple butt plug and then we used it.”

Liam choked at that. Niall and Jesy grinned. Zayn looked like he would if he had just seen his parents having sex. Louis however, was glaring at Harry, feeling the heat in his cheeks. “That is not going to work for you either, and now I'm twice as mad at you for telling everyone that.”

“Louis, come on! You've forgiven everything else!” Harry said, but Harry didn't get it. And so Louis just ignored him. He was swaying a bit now.

Liam sighed. “Haz, maybe you should go to the hospital now. You look like you're about to faint.”

“No,” Harry waved him off, his focus fully on Louis. But Louis was concerned as well, because Harry really didn't look too good. 

“Harry, just go to the hospital,” Louis said.

“No, not yet, I have to-- I need to talk to you about this,” Harry said.

Liam’s phone rang. He cringed when he looked at it before he picked it up. “Hello, Your Majesty,” he started. He sent them a tight smile before he walked away, and from what Louis could hear on the phone, it sounded like the Queen was not amused. 

“I should get back to the girls,” Jesy said. “Leigh-Anne got clipped when we were taking out the snipers. She's okay, but the hospital put her on bed rest, which you know she is not happy about.”

“Leigh-Anne too,” Louis mumbled. 

“We’ll have to get drinks soon, Louis,” Jesy smiled. “Now that I am officially done at Downing St, doesn't mean we can't be friends.”

“Yeah, sure,” he smiled back at her before she gave him a quick hug. He hadn't thought of the fact that she would be leaving Downing St now that her ‘mission’ was over. Hell, he didn't even know if he’d be at Downing St, seeing as the Prime freaking Minister was a terrorist. He was 99.9% sure they weren't going to let Cowell keep that job. 

“I'm glad you're not a terrorist,” she winked at him before she walked away.

He knew Harry was still staring at him, the hurt look on his face, but Louis continued to look anywhere but at him. Because Harry didn't get it. He didn't get why Louis could forgive the rest of them so easily, but not Harry. 

“You've forgiven everyone else,” Harry tried again. His voice was low now, even slower than normal. “You've forgiven everyone for lying to you but me.”

“You think this is just about you lying to me?” Louis rounded on him, his anger rising. “You're a fucking moron, Harry, if that's what you think.”

“Then what?” Harry asked, looking confused. He was shaking a bit, Louis realized. “Why can you forgive everyone but not me?”

“Because you made me fall in love with you. Because I'm still in love with you, you berk,” Louis screamed. Was it that hard to see? He had made Louis fall in love with him, when he was playing him the whole time. 

That made everyone freeze. Liam, who was still on the phone a few feet away, looked around at them, his eyes wide and his face pained, probably as the Queen continued to yell at him. Zayn looked like he had eaten something sour, and Niall was grinning. Harry, on the other hand, looked pale and clammy, though comprehension did start to dawn on his face. Finally.

“I think that's our cue to head to my office,” Zayn broke the silence finally.

“As if, I want to see this,” Niall said.

“Niall,” Zayn rolled his eyes and pulled Niall after him towards what Louis assumed was his office. “Harry, I'm calling you an ambulance. You're losing too much blood.”

“I love you,” Louis said again, his voice quiet now, barely a whisper. “But it's not real. You made me fall in love with you, and it's not real. You used me, and I was stupid enough to let you.”

Harry winced. “Louis, I love you too.”

“You're not on a mission anymore, Harry,” Louis rolled his eyes. “You got what you needed from me. You don't need to lie anymore.”

“I'm, I’m not lying,” Harry stammered. “I love you.”

“Harry,” Louis looked away. He couldn't hear this anymore. It hurt too much. 

“No, Louis, listen to me, please. I need you to know the truth, the whole truth,” Harry pleaded. 

“Fine, let's hear it then,” Louis crossed his arms, looking at Harry defiantly. He’d listen, but he wasn't going to let Harry fool him, not again.

Harry took a deep breath. “I was sent to be your friend, but when you didn't want another friend, I started to date you for the information, that is true. But I'm not-- it wasn't just that for a long time, not for me. I wasn't lying when I said I was in love with you too. I love you, and only you. And not just for some mission. I love you for you, for who you are. Fuck, Louis, even when I thought you were guilty, I was still mad for you. And I know now it was stupid, so stupid to think you had anything to do with any of this, and I should have known, because I know you. I love you.”

Louis didn't even realize he was crying, just a bit. Because that's what he wanted to hear, that's what his heart needed to hear. But it wasn't enough. Because Harry had lied to him, and he'd used him. He’d thought he was a fucking terrorist. The truth was, he didn't know how to believe him now. 

“Louis,” Harry stepped forward, shaking a bit as he reached up and wiped a tear gently from Louis’ cheek. “I know you don't believe me, and with everything that's happened today, I know I deserve that, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to prove it to you. Because I love you, I truly and deeply do. I fought it, I fought it for so long, but I couldn't fight it anymore. I think I was so far gone before I even realized. I've never -- I've never felt like this before. I never even thought I’d get to feel this way with this life. I didn't think it was possible, and I definitely didn't think I deserved it. I still don't think that. God, if you only knew. I broke so many rules, and crossed so many lines when I fell for you, but I didn't care. 

And I'm so sorry, so fucking sorry that I didn't meet you under normal circumstances, because you're it for me, Louis. I know you’ll probably never forgive me, and I don't blame you. I get it, I deserve that. But, I just -- I need you to know that it was real. What I felt for you, who I was with you, was the most real thing in my life. It was real for me. You are real for me.” 

Louis wanted to believe him. He really, truly did. But he didn't. He believed that maybe Harry thought he was telling the truth, that maybe Harry thought he was in love with Louis. But he had lied, and he had used him. Hell, he thought he was a terrorist. How did one get over that? And really, at the end of the day, Louis realized he hadn't fallen in love with Harry. He'd fallen in love with the person Harry had pretended to be. Maybe some of that was real, maybe the Harry he had come to love really was the spy in front of him, but it wasn't. Harry wasn't real. The Harry he had come to know, who didn't talk much to his family because they lived in San Francisco, who worked in IT and travelled all the time, who was a clumsy idiot, it was all lies. Instead, he was left with someone he couldn't even recognize anymore. 

“Say something,” Harry said quietly, his hand still on Louis’ cheek. “Please.”

Louis sighed and reached up to remove Harry’s hand from his face. “I know you want to believe that, but I don't. And quite frankly, Harry, it doesn't matter either way.”

“How -- how can you say that?” Harry asked quietly. He was leaning on the computer table now, looking ready to fall over. His face had gone ashen and he seemed to have a hard time focusing on the room. 

“Sit down, Harry,” Louis rolled his eyes. Harry looked defiant for a moment before he seemed to think better of it and sat in the computer chair. “Look, I don't know if I have a job anymore. I don't know how I'm going to face my friends and family knowing now that it was my boss that destroyed London. I don't know if I can even stay here anymore, to be honest. But the one thing I know for sure is that I don't really know you.”

“You do though,” Harry insisted, his breathing slightly shallow. “You do know me. That was me, Louis, always.”

“It wasn't though, was it? It was IT Harry, who wasn't as exciting as international spy Harry, but he was normal, and he was real,” Louis sighed. “And after today, I just don't know if I want to know the international spy. You killed people, Harry. You lied to me, and you used me and you thought I was a terrorist, which, thank you for you know, working it out and not letting me get framed for being a terrorist, but this thing you do, this life you lead, I just don't know how to be a part of that right now.”

Harry nodded slowly, and Louis could see he at least somewhat understood. “I still love you, you know,” he said quietly, as if the words were for Louis and Louis alone. It felt like goodbye. 

Louis heard the medical team before he saw them, but he stood up and backed away as they reached Harry, quickly working to check his vitals and get him some fluids before transport. 

“I told you to go to the hospital first, you idiot,” Liam had finished his reprimanding phone call with the Queen, and he was by Harry’s side, a worried look on his face that was mirrored on Niall and Zayn’s as they came out of Zayn’s office.

“Yeah well, I've already been shot, Liam,” Harry tried to smirk. It didn't look right on his pale face now. “You can't really shoot me again.”

Louis noticed Zayn look up at him, their eyes connecting for a moment. Zayn nodded, as if he knew what Louis needed to do and he understood. Louis was glad he had forgiven Zayn. Louis watched the med team and the boys fuss over Harry for only a second more. He watched Harry struggle to listen to them, instead his eyes searching for Louis. But Louis couldn't be here anymore. He couldn't handle this for a moment longer. He took a deep breath and turned around, knowing that he had no other choice but to walk away.


	20. Epilogue

Harry was gone for fifty days. Not that he was counting. 

When he checked out of the hospital, he called Liam to let him know he’d be taking some time off. He stopped by the fake flat to pick up Buttercup and a small bag of clothes before he left, but he left all of his other things there. He didn’t care too much what happened to it all, but he figured Niall would sort it all out for him.

The drive to Holmes Chapel took him a couple of hours and he spent only a fraction of it coming up with his excuse for being home. Besides, he didn't really need an excuse what with London being destroyed. He knew he'd have a harder time getting his mum to let him leave after. The rest of it he spent trying not to think about Louis. He knew he messed up, but he put everything out there in the lab and Louis just wasn’t interested. It hurt, it hurt a lot actually, but he couldn’t blame Louis.

His mum was a bit of a wreck when he arrived home. He told her the bakery got badly damaged in the attacks so he thought he’d come home for a bit, but it only took her ten minutes to find the bandage on his arm. So, that disaster coupled with the fact it had just been announced to the whole country that the Prime Minister had been behind the attacks made for an eventful evening. He hated lying to her, but he had to. Such was the life. She’d let it go after the eleventh day, taking instead to watching him closely. 

After that though, things slipped into a routine. Before he knew it Christmas had come and he hadn’t thought all that hard about going back to work. Gemma had come home, and well, her questions were a lot harder than their mum’s, but they were glad enough that he was home that they pretended at least to let it go. He’d kept in contact with the boys, but mostly maintained sending just texts about the TV shows he was watching and how his wound was recovering. Niall sent him a joke every day, often ones that were crude and very dirty. 

He had been fully healed for a few weeks before the holiday even arrived, but he still didn’t make any moves towards going back to work. He had been ordered to report in once his injuries were healed, but he had hesitated when he went to call Liam about it and he didn't follow through. After that, he hadn't really bothered to even try. 

Through all of that he tried not to think about Louis. He convinced himself that he had romanticized his time undercover, that things weren’t as good or as special as he remembered them being. He told himself that maybe it wasn’t love after all. He'd been confused, taken in by the wishful thinking of a life he wished he could have. 

But still, he ached for Louis. 

At first he had passed that off as his bullet wound aching. And later, he tried to believe it was just phantom pains. But at night, when he was alone and his mum wasn’t fretting about, he knew the truth. And he knew that he missed Louis. Louis had come into his heart as softly as a sunset, slowly, quietly. He had burrowed his way into Harry’s heart long before Harry even knew he was there. And now, he felt lost in the darkness without that light. Not that he could blame Louis, of course, not after everything Harry had done.

So on Boxing Day when he was woken up by his phone blasting a tango, the opening music to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, right next to his face, he knew he was being called in. It was the fifty-first day since he had been gone. He was actually surprised it had taken this long.

“Styles,” he said when he pressed answer.

“Hello, Agent Styles,” Liam said formally. Harry rolled his eyes. “I hope you’ve enjoyed a nice recovery period, but you need to report back to London.”

“M,” Harry said quietly. “Liam, I’m not sure if I’m ready.”

“You are. Your doctor there in Holmes Chapel gave you a clean bill of help. Zayn hacked his records and checked since you didn't bother to tell us,” he said. Harry detected amusement in his voice at that. Liam paused for a moment. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Harry.”

Harry wanted to argue, wanted to tell him he wasn't afraid, that he was just taking some time to heal, but he found that he couldn’t. The truth was he was afraid. Not of the job, that he could handle. He had been in more scrapes and had more wounds than he could count, but he’d never been hurt like this before. Like his insides had been pulled out and flipped around and then ran over by a tank. He knew he could probably avoid Louis for the rest of his life. London was a big city and they had managed to live there for years without crossing paths and would have continued to if his mission hadn’t happened. 

But he didn’t quite trust himself to stay away. Because the worst part was that he had allowed himself to hope. He had wanted it, so badly, and he knew that in this life, they didn't usually get that happy ending, not after all the blood had been shed and all the shots had been fired. They never did quite tell you that there really was no peace after a lifetime of war. But he had thought, just for a moment, that maybe, just maybe he could have it with Louis. That was a feeling he never thought he'd experience, the total loss of hope. It was better, he thought, to never hope at all rather than hope for something so deeply, so strongly, that losing that hope left a darkness behind that seemed impossible to climb out of. 

“Maybe I could retire,” Harry suggested. “I could become a baker like my mum believes me to be.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I agree with your mum, being a baker would be wasting your talents,” Liam said. Then his voice went soft again. “Harry, you have to come back to London. You can’t hide for the rest of your life. That’s not how you face your problems. Also, as your superior officer, I'm not giving you a choice. Get your arse back to London, or I'm coming over there to shoot you again. Holmes Chapel isn't too far. I can even make it a training exercise for the trainees.”

Harry felt like whining, but he bit his tongue. Liam was right of course. Liam was always right, even when Harry didn’t want to admit it. But also, he really didn't want to be shot again for disobeying a direct order, especially by a bunch of trainees. With his luck, he'd end up being shot somewhere vital by accident. “I’ll be in first thing on Monday.”

“Nonsense, I’ll be expecting to see you in my office on the second of January. I may shoot you one day, but I'm not evil enough to make you come back to work right before New Year’s. See you Thursday.”

Harry stared at his phone for a moment after Liam hung up. If Liam hadn’t called he probably would have stayed in his childhood bedroom forever, dodging his mum’s questions and cuddling Buttercup. It wouldn’t be a bad life after all he'd seen; he didn't think he'd mind the quiet life anymore. Maybe once, when he was younger and fresh out of uni, he'd craved a life of adventure, but now he thought maybe he could walk away from that adventure. Maybe try for that peace instead. Maybe he could teach. He did have a few advanced degrees in languages after all. 

Who was he kidding? Liam was right. He needed to face his problems. And he knew he wouldn't last long as a civilian, especially as a teacher. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that the quiet life really wasn't for him. It never had been. That's what had driven him to join MI6 to begin with. 

He left on Friday afternoon. He told his mum they’d finally gotten the bakery ready to open again and he had to be back, but really, he just wanted some time to settle in, to get back into the London mindset before he went back into MI6. She got a little weepy as she hugged him goodbye, but before he closed his door she gently reminded him he should find a better job, one that let him visit her more and really challenged him. If she only knew.

It was dark by the time he got back to his flat - his real flat. He hadn’t been there much in months, since July, since he took this whole thing with Louis to a whole other level. It was weird walking back in and knowing it wasn't just to pick up some equipment for a mission. It was the same place he had rented when he was just twenty-two and new to MI6. He'd immediately gone about filling it with treasures from everywhere he’d been. He had a few photos of the boys around his flat and one of Gemma and his mum in the bedroom, hidden from public eye in case an enemy somehow found where he lived and broke in. He could see the pieces he had brought over to the fake flat had made their way back here, but he didn’t spare them a second glance. Niall probably had something to do with that, he thought. 

He let Buttercup out of her carrier and she sprinted out of it. She darted from room to room, clearly happy to be back to her home. Harry wasn’t so sure yet.

It wasn’t that late, but Harry crawled into his bed anyway. He hoped he’d feel better about it in the morning, but as of right now he felt uneasy, like he was staying in someone else’s home, like he was trying to fit back into a place and a life he didn’t belong to anymore.

When he woke up in the morning it was with a need to get out of the house. He hadn’t properly seen what London looked like the night before, it had been dark and he was trying not to look, but today he needed to see. He knew a lot of the train stations had already been mostly rebuilt, but some things would take time, like St. Paul’s, which they’d have to do a fair bit of excavating at before they could begin construction. 

He walked in that direction when he left his flat. It was a forty minute walk and he knew he could have gotten there faster on the tube, but he honestly needed to feel the chilling London winds on his face. He was glad he couldn’t see the damage to Waterloo Bridge when he walked behind the station. But it didn't matter really, because he could see evidence of that day everywhere else. It wasn’t just the bombed out look, made worse by the gray of December, but there was now graffiti everywhere. Harry had walked these same streets only a few months ago and they hadn’t looked anything like this. It reminded him a little of Berlin and their street art movement.

He understood why. It was defiance, wasn't it? It was the people speaking out against the injustice. Their government had been stripped to the core and laid bare for all to see, to judge its faults. And the people had deemed it unworthy. It had driven them to express themselves on buildings, on the pavement, on trains. It had united them in a way only such savage attacks could, to fight back for their freedom, for their lives. He could hear people grumble about it, under their breath in a way only the English could do with so much tact, but Harry liked it. 

It felt like the people weren't trying to preserve the old London, the London that had been susceptible to such corruption, but that they were trying to create a new one. They were rising up against the fear and the chaos the attack had meant to bestow on the city, and the world, and they were saying that fear and chaos wouldn't work, not today. 

He joined the bustle of people crossing Millennium Bridge and moved slowly across the murky looking Thames. The wind was starting to pick up and he could hear the water sloshing below. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and kept moving across.

He could see St. Paul’s as he walked, part of the dome covered in tarps and scaffolding up the side. He knew it would get worse as he walked closer and he made himself do it. He felt a lot of responsibility for what he was about to see. It was something he had tried to work through when he had been at home, but he couldn't quite move past it. 

He walked slowly towards the Cathedral and when he reached it, he moved cautiously around it. He had seen on the news that when the bomb had gone off, there had been close to forty people seeking refuge inside. The front was completely torn off, the bomb having been stationed at the base of the Queen Anne monument, and the road was still torn up as well. He swallowed hard.

Maybe seeing the damage wouldn’t help. Maybe it was just going to hurt. A lot.

He was glad he hadn't seen it on the day of. That this hadn't been one more image he was faced with at HQ riddled with those damned flags marking bodies. It was hard to look at the courtyard and think of it that way only fifty odd days ago. At least they had removed the colored flags.

His feet carried him towards the nearest tube station. He rode the Central line to Bond Street before switching to the Jubilee Line. When he got to Westminster, he made the climb to the street slowly. It all looked the same as when he made this walk fifty two days ago, but Louis wasn’t beside him anymore. When he emerged onto the street, he expected it to look different, to feel different, but Big Ben was still staring down on him. Everything was intact right here. Cowell’s big finale plan had left it all untouched, and Harry was grateful.

He walked slowly down the street and then turned right. He paused in front of the gates at Downing Street. They stood there unchanged, which seemed weird to him for some reason. Maybe because this had been the headquarters of the biggest attack on London to date, and yet it was still the seat for their whole government. But someone else sat behind that steel door now. He wondered if Louis was still in there or if he had lost his job when Cowell was arrested. It seemed likely that he would have. He couldn’t imagine Louis would be an overly popular hire amongst the MPs after his boss turned out to be a lunatic right under his nose.

He didn’t care to watch the guards for any longer than a moment. He continued down the street, passed Horse Guards and rounded the Mall to step into the park instead. There were more people walking through than he would have expected, a few tourists stopping for selfies every couple of meters and mums pushing babies in their prams. It reminded him fondly of the resilience of the English. He moved deeper into the park, kicking up some of the gravel as he walked and wishing the whole space wasn’t tainted by the times he came through here with Louis.

He tried to keep his eyes on the ground as he walked. He held his breath as he passed a spot he remembered standing with Louis, sharing lingering kisses, and kept moving. When he finally looked up, he was facing a split in the path. He chose to go right, walking deeper into the park.

He sat down on a bench a few steps away and rubbed his hands together. The cold was really starting to creep in now. He’d been out for well over an hour and the wind was making his cheeks burn. While he blew on his hands he looked around the park.

People were moving quickly, even the tourists, trying to get out of the cold. He would have thought as it got later in the day it would get warmer, but it didn’t. If anything, it had gotten even colder. 

But there were two people moving slowly, well across from where he was, near the road. Two men, deep in conversation, standing together and moving against the wind. The shorter one had a red scarf wound around his neck. He almost looked like… No. It couldn’t be. Harry squinted, trying to see more clearly across the park, the wind causing his eyes to water.

He felt his pulse quicken. He saw a wide smile cross the man’s face and then a tinkling laugh wafted through the park. He knew that face. There was no doubt. Louis. 

Harry was so cold, his bum was starting to go numb against the bench, but his hands started sweating at the sight of him. He watched Louis continue to walk with the man, an unremarkable looking bloke with glasses and blonde hair. He started to catalogue their interaction. They weren’t touching, but they were walking close to each other and leaning towards each other as they spoke. Louis was smiling, he was laughing. And the other guy seemed to be as well.

It couldn’t be a date, could it? 

Harry wanted to stand up. He wanted to walk over there and… And do what exactly? He didn’t know. It wasn't like he could actually do anything anyway. He wiped his hands on his jeans instead. 

Louis looked happy, that’s what gutted him. He was smiling and he was laughing and he was probably going to kiss this random bloke on a cold winter's day in St. James’ park and all Harry could do was sit there and try not to throw up on his trainers. 

He sat there until they left the park. He didn’t even watch which way they went. He felt ill. He stumbled back home, ignoring the chill in his bones in favor of the ache in his heart. 

When he got back to his flat, he sat down on the couch and wished things were different. He wished that he was back in Holmes Chapel, that he had never come to London, that he had never worked for MI6, that he'd met Louis randomly on the street, or in the pub. He wished it was still July, and they were kissing against the door to Louis’ flat, or out getting a pint with the lads in a pub they'd all had to arrive separately to using different routes. He wished he had never fallen in love, that he had kept this all strictly professional, or maybe that they’d sent someone else on this mission. He wished for a lot of things that were never going to happen. He sat there for a long time, staring straight ahead and wishing for futile things. And he just felt worse. 

\---

Louis wasn't sure how he'd ended up here, standing outside Harry’s flat. His real flat. He'd been here before but only once, about a month ago with Niall to return Harry’s possessions from his fake flat. Niall had shown up at Louis’ door and all but dragged him over to Harry’s without so much as a word. There wasn't much to transfer back, just some clothes and a few pictures. There hadn't been anything that was really Harry there, Louis had realized when he had stood in Harry’s real flat. But this place, this was all him. Louis could see Harry in every corner of the flat, from the various foreign artifacts to the furniture to the pictures to Buttercup’s little bed. Louis and Niall had put back his stuff, and left pretty soon after, not giving Louis more time to explore, to see what else Harry was.

Now, he stood outside the door again, deliberating if he should knock, if he even could. Louis had seen Harry in the park a few hours ago, from across the way. And he'd seen Harry look right at them. Louis had been a little worried that Harry would come over, try to talk to him maybe, but that would have ruined everything. He couldn't have exactly explained Harry to James. How would that conversation even start? ‘This is Harry. He's an international spy for MI6, and he was my boyfriend, but not really, because he thought I was a terrorist.’ Yeah, because that was going to go so well.

But then they'd left the park, and James had gone home, and somehow, Louis had ended up at Harry’s door. He hadn't meant to come here. He hadn't even realized he was coming here until he'd already arrived. He'd been standing here for a few minutes now, and well, he came here for a reason after all. He knocked on the door.

It took Harry a moment to answer, and Louis spent that moment regretting knocking. He shouldn't have come. He definitely shouldn't have knocked. He was actually thinking about bolting when the door opened, and Harry stood in front of him, his eyes going wide in shock as he saw it was Louis. 

“Well,” Louis said, looking him over and ignoring the way his heart sped up, just a bit, and the way his stomach fluttered. “You look like shit.”

Harry really did look awful. He was pale, paler than even most British people, and his hair was in tangles, though that was probably from the wind. But it was the sad look in Harry’s eyes that really hit Louis. Harry looked a little -- haunted, like the light had been taken from him. 

“Louis,” Harry said shakily, and barely above a whisper.

Louis sighed. “Are you going to invite me in or not, Harold, I don't have all day?”

Wordlessly, Harry stepped aside, letting him in. Louis nodded in thanks and walked into the flat, looking around. “Have to say, I like this place a lot better than your fake flat. The view there was shit.”

Harry just followed him in silently, and Louis could see on his face that he was still trying to work out what Louis was doing here. Louis didn't blame him, because he wasn't really sure either. “So,” Louis said after a few moments, seeing that Harry wasn't going to start. “You're back.”

“I guess so,” Harry looked at the ground. 

“How's your war wound?” Louis asked, his eyes drifting momentarily to Harry’s arm where he had been shot.

“It's healed,” Harry shrugged. 

“That's good,” Louis nodded. “Can't handle most of Zayn’s equipment without the use of both arms.”

Harry visibly tensed at that, and Louis regretted saying it. He knew Harry was thinking Louis was still mad, and well, he was, but it was different now. Louis was different. He'd had a lot of time to think in the last several weeks, and -- it was just different now.

“Why are you here, Louis?” Harry asked, his gaze still anywhere but on Louis, which kind of pissed Louis off. The guy had said he loved him, hadn't he? And now he wasn't even looking at him.

“I saw you,” Louis said before he could stop himself. He shouldn't have said it. He wasn't sure if Harry was allowed to know, but well, Louis didn't care. “In the park just now. I saw you.”

Harry cringed slightly. “I wasn't following you. I was just -- there.”

“I didn't say you were following me,” Louis rolled his eyes. 

Harry just stared at him for a moment, the caution clearly evident on his face. “So what are you doing here then?”

Louis looked down for a moment, trying to process his thoughts, trying to figure it out himself. Because the truth was he had missed Harry. He had been angry, and he was still, just a tiny bit, but starting around the twelfth day since the attack, Louis had finally admitted to himself that the despair he felt in the pit of his stomach was because he missed Harry. He sighed and finally looked up, seeing Harry still staring at him, waiting patiently for his answer.

“I wanted to -- why didn't you call me?” Louis asked, before he could stop himself.

Harry looked like he had definitely not been expecting that. “What?”

“You've been gone for two months,” Louis said, unable to stop it now from pouring out. “Two months, and you didn't call me once. No texts, no calls, no bloody emails telling me you were okay.”

“I -- I didn't think you wanted me to call you,” Harry said, still trying to work out what was going on. 

“Well, I didn't at first,” Louis said truthfully. Because he really, really didn't. He wouldn't have been ready for that, not then. “But later, at Christmas. I mean, you didn't even text me on my birthday.”

“I didn't think you wanted to hear from me,” Harry said, quietly. “You left, that day when the ambulance came, so I just -- I didn't think you wanted to hear from me.”

“Well I was angry, Harry,” Louis rolled his eyes again. “You used me, and you pretended to be my boyfriend and to love me and you thought I was a terrorist. And you got yourself shot. Like honestly, you got shot. Of course I left. But I went home, on the other side of the city, not the fucking country. You -- you just left. For months.”

“I --,” Harry started, but Louis could see he had nothing to say to that. Good, because Louis wasn't done just yet.

“You spewed all that bullshit about how you loved me and how it was real for you, and then you left me for two whole fucking months, Harry,” Louis was angry again. 

“It was real,” Harry said quietly, looking down. “It is real for me.”

“Some way to show it,” Louis scoffed. “You didn't give me any time. Just up and left. I had to find out from fucking Zayn that you had gone to your mum’s to recover from your gunshot wound, your mum who lives in Holmes Chapel, not San Francisco, evidently.”

“I had to protect her,” Harry said. “No one knows about my family, except the boys. That's the life, I couldn't tell you.”

“I get that now,” Louis glared at him, and he did. He really did understand now just what having that life meant, all Harry had had to sacrifice, all he'd had to keep inside, Louis understood it now. He was still a bit peeved about it all, but he understood. “But I had to find out from Niall, because you weren’t here.”

“I didn't think -- I’m sorry,” Harry said, looking up at him again finally. “I'm so fucking sorry, Louis. For everything. For the lies, for thinking you were a terrorist, for leaving afterwards, I’m so sorry.”

Louis sighed. He hadn't really expected this when he got here. Hell, he hadn't really known what to expect. But it was all out there now, the reason for his continued anger, the hurt behind it all. He found he didn't want to take it back. He looked at Harry for a long time. “Did you mean what you said that day? That you had fallen in love with me, despite the case?”

“Yes,” Harry breathed. He took a hesitant step forward, his eyes watching Louis warily, as if he was afraid Louis would run if he made any sudden moves. Fat chance of that happening, Louis thought to himself. “Louis, I love you. I wasn't lying when I told you that, not that day, and not any other time before that. I just -- you changed something in me. I didn't think I'd ever get it, you know, the peace, the love, the life you were offering. We don't get chances like that often. We don't get people who make us feel whole, not in this life. But you did, and God, I hoped for it, so much, that we could have that one day, the life with the house and the kids and the dogs, and I knew it went against every protocol. I knew I was breaking every single rule. I crossed so many lines with you. But I meant it when I said I didn't care about that. All I cared about, all I care about is you.”

Louis had thought that day, after the truth was all out there, that he didn't believe him. And he didn't then. He had felt used and pathetic, and he hadn't believed Harry truly loved him. He hadn't believed Harry could do what he had done to someone he loved. But that was before, before he had had two months to think about it, two months to go through every word spoken, every touch, every kiss. That was before he understood, or maybe let himself understand, what Harry really meant in his words. Now, all Louis could hear was the absolute truth behind Harry’s words. 

But there was still one thing he wanted to know, one thing he needed to know. “If you guys had been right,” Louis said, his eyes trained fully on Harry, gauging his response. “If I had turned out to be a terrorist, what were you going to do?”

“I -- I don't know,” Harry said, and again, Louis heard the truth in his statement. “I knew I had to take you down, that it was what was required of me. But I don't know if I could have done it when it came down to it.”

Louis nodded, because he understood that too. Cowell had destroyed London, had killed thousands of innocent people. If Louis had been in Harry’s shoes, if he had been the spy and Harry the potential terrorist, he wasn't sure what he would have done either. There didn't seem to be any need for any more words on the matter. Instead, Louis crossed his arms and said, “You can't just leave me again.”

Because I can't handle it, Louis didn't add out loud. 

Harry looked confused again. He opened his mouth and closed it, as if deliberating his words. “Louis,” he said finally, after a few moments. “You saw me at the park. And like, I get it. I was gone for two months, and I betrayed you. I lied to you. I get it, but I don't know if I can handle seeing it in front of me.”

Now it was Louis’ turn to look confused. “What are you talking about?” 

“You know I saw you with that guy,” Harry said, his eyes growing pained again. “Like I said, I get how you could move on, but I can't handle seeing it.”

And then it hit Louis. Harry had seen Louis with James, which Louis knew. After all, Louis wasn't exactly hiding their walk in the park, and he'd seen Harry look right at them. But Harry didn't know. Liam hadn't told him. Figured. Louis refrained from rolling his eyes again. “You mean that arse James Arthur?” He said, somewhat slightly amused and offended at the same time. Because him and James Arthur, really? Gross. “I was working a lead, Harold.”

“A lead?” Harry repeated. He obviously didn't get it.

“Yeah, trying to weed out the rest of the traitors in the government before the end of Cowell’s trial” Louis explained, shaking his head in disgust. They'd all been so blind to the depth of the corruption in their government. “Turns out, quite a few of them knew what Simon was up to. Being Cowell’s former ministerial diary secretary gives me an advantage with their diary secretaries. We speak the same language.”

He could see Harry trying to work it out in his head, what Louis was implying. He saw it the moment it all clicked in Harry’s face. “You're working a mission,” Harry said softly, his voice full of shock. “For--.”

“MI6,” Louis grinned, finishing his sentence. “Evidently, your job didn't need any PAs, but they were more than happy to take on another agent. I have a badge and everything.”

Harry didn't say anything for a long time, and Louis couldn't read what he was thinking on his face. 

Finally, Harry spoke again. “You work for MI6 now.”

“I did mention the badge, right?” Louis smirked. 

“No,” Harry said. “You can't.”

That wasn't what Louis had expected him to say, he had to admit. He had thought Harry would immediately be happy with that news. Louis was really one of them now, which meant no more secrets, no more lies. It meant Louis finally understood, not just the spy life and everything that went with it, but he also understood Harry, the real Harry. Liam had offered him the job about a week after everything had gone down, and Louis had accepted it a day later after extensive talks with Zayn and a lot of thinking. Since then, he'd had to go undercover quite a bit. Technically, he was still a trainee, not even a real agent yet, but they needed him to find the other traitors in their government, the ones that had retreated when Cowell was arrested. The plan was to find them all before Cowell’s trial in front of the UN ended, and send them all away for life. His former position had helped them take down a lot of corrupt MPs so far.

Now, Louis understood what it had been like for Harry all those months, letting some parts of him filter out while trying to keep his cover. He understood how the lines blurred, and making the tough call. He'd had to turn on a lot of former friends. He wasn't sorry about it though, he found. They had been terrorists. They might not have pulled the triggers or detonated the bombs, but they let it happen for power, and that was just as bad in Louis’ eyes. 

“And why is that?” Louis asked quietly.

“Louis,” Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You don't know -- you don't know what this life is like. You’ll never have a normal life again. You’ll be lying to everyone, your mum, your siblings, your friends. You’ll do things you regret, see things you wish you could forget. You -- you'll give up that future if you work with MI6.”

“Harry,” Louis said after a pause. “Hate to break it to you, but my life’s already not normal. I was a suspected terrorist, albeit an innocent one. My friends are all in a super secret intelligence agency, and my boyfriend is the biggest spy there, which I really didn't understand until we had to study some of your cases in training. I mean honestly, Harold, you're kind of a badass. It's hotter than I should admit.”

That stopped Harry short. “Your boyfriend?”

“Well, we didn't exactly break up, did we?” Louis smirked slightly. He sighed and took a few steps towards Harry until he stood right in front of him, so close he could reach out and touch him. “Harry, you don't get it. I don't want that future if it’s not with you. Yeah, I’ll have to lie to my mum about what I do, and I'm not looking forward to that. But what you guys do at MI6, what we do, it's too important, and I believe in it. More importantly, I believe in you, and in us. So what if our lives aren't normal? At least I’d still get to spend it with you.”

Harry reached out, his fingers grazing Louis’ cheek. Louis was man enough to admit he had really fucking missed that. “You mean it?”

“Harry, I love you too,” Louis said softly. “I’m so in love with you, and yeah, I'm still a little angry at everything, but I get it now, and I'll get over it. We’ll work it out together, because that's what you do when you love someone. Plus, this way we can have sex on your desk. I don't actually have an office yet, since I'm still a trainee, but your door locks, right? I could work with that.”

“And everything you said? How you don't know me?” Harry asked, completely ignoring Louis’ offer for office sex, which was rude of him, but Louis decided not to dwell on it. 

His time at MI6 had made him see who Harry really was, beyond the cover. Sure, Louis had thought his parents lived in San Francisco, and that he worked at an IT company, but he also knew that Harry loved cooking, particularly baking. He knew Harry hated sleeping with clothes on, and turned quite a bit in his sleep unless his octopus limbs were circling Louis, as if Louis was anchoring him. He knew Harry was funny and kind, and liked his hair long. He had seen parts of Harry that were real, and with everything else, the parts he hadn't seen, the parts he didn't know yet, he didn't mind finding out. 

“I know enough,” Louis said. “I love what I know about you, and the rest, well, we have time to work on that too.”

Harry sighed in relief, and Louis could see the light come back to his eyes. Harry looked at him intently, as if searching for something in his expression. “And this is really what you want?”

“It is,” Louis said truthfully. “It really and truly is.”

The smile crept on Harry’s face slowly, as the truth of that hit him. He leaned forward without another word and pressed his lips against Louis’. It took a millisecond before Louis responded, kissing him back, his hands reaching up to wrap around Harry’s neck and pulling him closer. Harry lifted his own hands to Louis’ cheeks, his thumb grazing along his jaw to coax Louis’ mouth to open as he deepened the kiss.

Louis sighed into the kiss, pressing himself against Harry, taking in as much of this as he could. Louis had missed this, the feel of Harry’s lips on his, his hands on Louis’ skin. He had felt something was missing since the day it all came crashing down on them, when he walked away from it all, and now he finally felt complete again. Louis wasn't sure what was going to happen now, or where they were going to go. He knew they had a lot to work out, but he also knew that they'd do it together, because he loved Harry, and Harry loved him. He felt it in his very being. And he knew, without a doubt, kissing now, Harry felt like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find us on tumblr [here](http://www.harruandlou.tumblr.com) & [here](http://www.darkmarkburning.tumblr.com)
> 
> As well as the fic post [here](http://harruandlou.tumblr.com/post/160753420420/when-worlds-collide-and-days-are-dark-by)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading <3


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